X
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Films
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Films
  • 1 h 30 m

Summary On a summer night in Harlem during her last months at home before starting college, seventeen-year-old poet Ayanna (Zora Howard) meets Isaiah (Joshua Boone), a charming music producer who has just moved to the city. It’s not long before these two artistic souls are drawn together in a passionate summer romance. But as the highs of young ...

Directed By: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Written By: Zora Howard, Rashaad Ernesto Green

  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Films
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Films
  • 1 h 30 m
Premature
Metascore Universal acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews
81
User Score Mixed or average Based on 7 User Ratings
5.0
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary On a summer night in Harlem during her last months at home before starting college, seventeen-year-old poet Ayanna (Zora Howard) meets Isaiah (Joshua Boone), a charming music producer who has just moved to the city. It’s not long before these two artistic souls are drawn together in a passionate summer romance. But as the highs of young ...

Directed By: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Written By: Zora Howard, Rashaad Ernesto Green

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Universal acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews
81
100% Positive
13 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Universal acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews
81
100% Positive
13 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
Feb 20, 2020
Directed with bristling immediacy by Rashaad Ernesto Green (“Gun Hill Road”), Premature could be classified as a love story, a coming-of-age drama, a cautionary tale (the title offers a clue) and a portrait of young black women and men finding their way in contemporary New York. But it also strikes me as a movie about the uses and occasional uselessness of language, with stop-and-go verbal cadences that seem particularly attentive to what its characters say and don’t say.
By Justin Chang FULL REVIEW
89
Feb 26, 2020
It’s a gorgeous, shattering film. It’s an unapologetically real film about a number of very real subjects, plot-agnostic but driven by character, consequence and compassion.
By Andrew Crump FULL REVIEW
83
Feb 20, 2020
In a movie landscape cluttered with coming of age stories, it’s worth asking what distinguishes a straightforward example such as Premature. Two things do – authenticity and Zora Howard. Howard is a breakout talent and she endows this story with grace and passion.
By Joe Blessing FULL REVIEW
80
Feb 20, 2020
Premature is teen love portrayed in an adult manner. Its grit and realism distinguish it from other teen love stories that force sappy, profound one-liners meant only for a good trailer moment.
By Alan Ng FULL REVIEW
75
Feb 20, 2020
The film’s most telling scene unfortunately marks a steep divide between the fine-tuned first half and a back end that threatens to crumble into cliche.
By Kate Erbland FULL REVIEW
70
Feb 20, 2020
This is an imperfect but stirring drama, by turns sweet, sexy and quietly wrenching.
By Jon Frosch FULL REVIEW
63
Jan 28, 2020
The performances and the milieu, with its colorful colloquial speech and loving if blundering sisterly relationships, is what sells “Premature” and makes it an indie film well worth your time.
By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Mi Alma Films, Astute Films, Slice Entertainment Group, 3DMC, Relic Pictures
Release Date Feb 21, 2020
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
Website https://www.facebook.com/prematurefilm/
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Awards

Montclair Film Festival (MFF)
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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