But inevitably there are moments when the film goes for the emotional jugular. He, cinematographer Mayse Alberti and editor Hughes Winborne opt for a decorous, stately tone, only rarely allowing a bit of boisterous humor even the scenes of violence and carnage in Iraq are kept fairly discreet. The approach Washington takes to this material is dignified, respectful and oddly staid. ![]() The last section of the film constitutes young Jordan’s coming to know his father, and in effect deciding to pattern himself after King. The progression from that point to King’s departure for Iraq in the spring of 2005 and his death in October, 2006 is fairly straightforward. That serves as the invitation for Virgil Williams’ script to shift back to the 1990s, when Dana and Charles met, and recount how their love grew. It actually begins in 2007, when Dana is desperately trying to juggle the demands of her job with caring for the then ten-month old Jordan, and when her memories of Charles lead her to begin writing her recollections, which will become, with King’s journal, the means for the boy to get to know his dad. The above précis is presented in chronological sequence, but the film is not. The boy’s reaction is immediate: he not only wants to visit King’s grave at Arlington Cemetery, but plans a memorial service there for his father’s friends, family and former comrades-in-arms. ![]() She brings out the journal, and adds to it the story of their courtship and romance. Ten years later Jordan (Jalon Christian) has become the butt of teasing at school because of his light skin, and asks Dana for details about the father he never knew. ![]() It becomes part of the cache of mementos that Dana treasures. Then he ships out and is killed during a mission, but not before beginning to write the titular journal addressed to his infant son. He’s able to return for a brief time with Dana, during which she becomes pregnant, but they don’t have the opportunity to marry. Then 9/11 occurs, and eventually he receives orders to lead his troops to Iraq in 2004. ![]() King’s commitments are nonetheless divided between her and the company of men he trains, and his choices sometimes occasion strain. (He’s also a fine sketch artist, a sure sign of his sensitivity.) The two hit it off, but the fact that they live so far apart-and that King is a divorced man with a young daughter in Texas he’s devoted to-are impediments to their developing a strong relationship.Įventually, though, King visits Dana in New York City, and their romance blossoms. Jordan), a man of impeccable manners and military bearing whom her father trained and who reveres the older man. There she meets First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Michael B. “A Journal for Jordan” is the sort of thing one would expect to find on a cable channel like Hallmark, but its pedigree has brought it a theatrical release it really doesn’t earn.Ĭhanté Adams plays Canedy, a frazzled New York Times reporter who visits her father (Robert Wisdom), a retired army sergeant, at his Kentucky home. Vanessa Aspillaga, Susan Pourfar, Joey Brooks, Spencer Squire and Clevelandīeto Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment/Columbia PicturesĪn old-fashioned real-life tearjerker, this adaptation of Dana Canedy’s 2008 memoir is also surprisingly stilted, given the talent on both sides of the camera. Jordan, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch Director:ĭenzel Washington Screenplay: Virgil WilliamsĬhanté Adams, Jalon Christian, Robert Wisdom, Johnny M.
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