Video: Tessa Thompson & Nnamdi Asomugha On Black Male Vulnerability And Not Having To Choose In 'Sylvie's Love'
December 25, 2020 - 6:16 am by VIBE
Life has a funny way of creating full-circle moments. Sylvie's Love follows the love story of Sylvie Parker (Tessa Thompson) and Robert Halloway (Nnamdi Asomugha) who meet during their summer job at a New York City record store. By the time the season ends, their friendship grows and naturally they part ways to pursue their dreams—Sylvie's goal is to work in television, while Robert has his eyes set on becoming a jazz musician. After years go by and making it to their dream careers, they unexpectedly cross paths again and realize their true love.
The Eugene Ashe-directed film, not only touches on the meaning of true love but also portrays the reality of sacrifices it sometimes endures. In the case of Parker who eventually becomes a married woman, the tradition of starting a family and becoming a stay at home mother is put on the back burner for the sake of her thriving career.
"If the film says anything, it's that you shouldn't have to choose," says Thompson in a sit-down interview with VIBE correspondent Jazzie Belle in a Zoom interview. "Sylvie finds herself in a marriage with a man who is a great man, but not the right man for her, because she has aspirations that extend beyond her household and domesticity, and she's not a woman who feels defined."
She adds, "Motherhood is an incredible accomplishment and Sylvie wants other things, too. She wants to make little babies in the world that look like stories and I can certainly relate to that."
As for Asomugha, he hopes viewers can take away the value of male vulnerability. "I think what I'd want people to take away is this aspect of male vulnerability or Black male vulnerability," he said. "That was so prevalent in the script that Eugene Ashe wrote and we were able to bring to the film.
He continues, "It wasn't just Robert's character, but it was also Lacy who plays Sylvie's husband in the film. And just being able to have that level of communication with your significant other and have that level of vulnerability, I think was important."
When it comes to the true price of love, Ashe—who's also the film's screenwriter—add that sometimes it's difficult but necessary to move in order to grow as a human being. "I think the true price of love is allowing yourself to let someone go if it means they'll be happier without you," he said. "What happens is that they realize, of course, at the end, that it's exactly what she [Sylvie] says."
Watch the full interview above and below.
Sylvie's Love is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
