X
- 2021
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 11 m
- 2021
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 11 m
Summary A Journal for Jordan is based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and h...
Directed By: Denzel Washington
Written By: Virgil Williams, Charles Monroe King, Dana Canedy
- 2021
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 11 m
- 2021
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 2 h 11 m
A Journal for Jordan
42
5.2
Where to Watch
Summary A Journal for Jordan is based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and h...
Directed By: Denzel Washington
Written By: Virgil Williams, Charles Monroe King, Dana Canedy
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
42
15% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
80% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
42
15% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
80% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
It wears its heart on its sleeve, unpretentious and sincere as a homemade valentine.
Denzel Washington directs this adaptation (the screenplay is by Virgil Williams) with care, respect and a deep-seated knowledge of the Black love stories that don’t make it to the big screen nearly enough.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 5 User Ratings
5.2
20% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
40% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 5 User Ratings
5.2
20% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
40% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
A journal for Jordan
Great acting from Michael B Jordan and the rest of the cast.
The movie steers too far from what the title denotes, and the shuffle between different timelines wasn't executed properly, but it was an enjoyable ride of black love and sacrifices military families go through.
Report
This is based on the memoir by the real mother (and partially on the titular journal). She was a New York Times writer (Chanté Adams), who strikes up a relationship with an attractive, noble soldier (Michael B. Jordan). The narrative continually moves around in time, from their first meeting to many years later, when the son is a teen. Each piece adds or explains an inevitable plot point to build their bond, with the Dad’s journal serving as inspiration. Jordan once again dominates every scene with his charismatic appeal and undeniable depth. Considering that Denzel Washington was the director, some of his style shows up in Jordan’s performance. The romance is charming, but the story’s slow development takes patience. The final scene brings it all together with a teary conclusion (yes, even my eyes were moist).
Report
The picture’s too rosy to feel real. Its elements of posthumous, loving advice and inevitable tragedy make for good bones. But this portrait is too clean, too unquestioning, too accepting, to get to the marrow.
Adapted from a 2008 memoir by former New York Times writer and editor Dana Canedy, it trades in cloying sentimentality and romance, the gooey melodrama done no favors by Washington’s stiff, anonymous direction.
Adams is a vivacious screen presence with a twinkle in her eye, and Jordan can’t quite match her, unable to draw out any real inner turmoil in a character who is respectable to a fault.
A Journal For Jordan is probably better suited to the page than the screen. Despite winning chemistry from Michael
B. Jordan and Chanté Adams, Denzel Washington’s film etches a romance that rarely delivers substance or surprises.
Certainly among the worst films of the year considering the reputable talent involved, this inspirational drama stains Washington’s directorial filmography.
(Mauro Lanari)
It is difficult not to feel repulsion for such a rudely reactionary and at times vulgar Denzel, who "exports democracy" in the name of the triad "God, Country, Family". Is he the new Charlton Heston?
Report
Not what you were expecting in Washington's theatrical debut. Seems as though production highlighted the meaning of the typical Black women facing underlying issues which surfaced from her Father's prior affairs against his wife; and repeating the same vicious cycle, herself, in her own relationship. All in all, the Black woman becoming the unwed, childbearing, significant other left with nothing besides **** memories of the life she could've had with 1st SGT Charles Monroe King (if he married her). Relationship seemed forceful, demanding, and slightly bitter on Dana's behalf.
Report
Production Company
BRON Studios,
Columbia Pictures,
Creative Wealth Media Finance,
Escape Artists,
Mundy Lane Entertainment,
Outlier Society,
Sony Pictures Releasing
Release Date Dec 25, 2021
Duration 2 h 11 m
Rating PG-13
Awards
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 3 Nominations
