She's Gotta Have It (1986)

 

She's Gotta Have It

Everybody starts somewhere and for Spike Lee, it was with “She’s Gotta Have It”. Or, at least this was his first feature length movie. As most such debuts, it is a low-cost affair, but one with a lot of qualities. It is also a sort of comedy, something I did not see coming.

The movie is aimed at explaining a woman called Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) and alternates between interviews with the characters and the actual story. In this manner it foretells the much later style of reality TV. The special thing about Nora Darling is her sex life. Rather than the usual serial monogamy, Nora practices parallel polygamy. At any time, Nora has several partners openly, mainly for the sex.

Suitor 1 is the gentle and polite Jamie (Tommy Redmond Hicks) who adores Nora and is ready to commit himself fully to her.

Suitor 2 is the street-smart but gangly Mars (Spike Lee himself), who is fun, or tries to be, but also rather needy.

Suitor 3 is the wealthy male model Greer (John Canada Terrell) who may have the looks and money, but is very much impressed with himself and rather intolerable.

Nora is enjoying being with all three of the men, but the men find it very hard to accept to share her with the others. Half their talk with Nora is trying to impress her, in their specific style, and the other half is complaining about her other men. From the general portrait of Nora, we learn that she has difficulty committing herself to anything but prefer to float around between things and just take what is coming. Pretty much like her relation to men.

Of course this must come to a head at some point, and the conclusion may be considered surprising except that it drives the point of the movie.

 It was a surprise to me that this was a comedy. The Spike Lee movies I know tend to lean on the heavy side, but this one is a lively affair with some pretty outré characters and situations. The narcissistic Greer is a hoot. Every time he opened his mouth I was giggling. Lee himself as Sam is also a comical character though on a slightly more subtle level and in both cases, it is amusing to see how Nora uses them. They appear super cool but are really dupes.

With Jamie it is different. His character does not play for comedy, but represents something else. He is the good guy, but understood in terms as the conventionally good guy. He is the person with the right opinions, saying and doing the right things, but those conventional values is everything Nola is not, and this is where the movie gets interesting. Who is it that says that Nola’s way of life is wrong? It is unconventional, but is conventional right? The normal story we get is that men are allowed to stray outside conventions, but here it is a woman and she is strong enough to stick to it. What we are challenged with is if conventions are really right. Should Nola conform or should the world accept Nola? And if something is okay for, why not for women?

The style of “She’s Gotta Have It” is gritty in its black and white cinematography and the documentary tone goes a long way to cover up and make believable the less than stellar acting performances. This feels like a movie made by friends on a shoestring budget, but in a wrapping that makes this acceptable, even preferable and supports the veracity. This looks like reality TV long before that was a thing.

Spike Lee has been called the Woody Allen of Afro-American cinema, and I can definitely see that. Everything from soundscape to cinematography and script screams New York, and this is a New York not that different from that of Woody Allen.

A very strong debut of Spike Lee. I look forward to watching his other movies on the List.