A Journal for Jordan – ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2022 – J – A Journal for Jordan – Movie Review
Director: Denzal Washington
Writer: Virgil Williams (Screenplay)
Writer: Charles Monroe King (Journal)
Cast
- Michael B Jordan (Creed)
- Chante Adams (The Photograph)
- Jalon Christian (Black Adam)
- Robert Wisdom (Face/Off)
- Tamara Tunie (Flight)
Plot: 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King, before he is killed in action in Baghdad, authors a journal for his son intended to tell him how to live a decent life despite growing up without a father.
Runtime: 2 Hours 11 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: A Journal for Jordan starts when Dana (Adams) decides to turn her ex-boyfriend Charles’ (Jordan) journal into a book. It started out as a message to their son Jordan (Christian) to prepare him for life if Charles never made it back.
Dana looks back on her life with Charles, how they met, fell in love and planned to start their own family. This jumps between before Charles died and after, showing the different life that Dana ended up living.
Verdict on A Journal for Jordan
A Journal for Jordan is a drama based on the real journal left to a son of a fallen soldier. Only it spends most of the film looking back on the relationship he had with his new girlfriend. It is a strange way to tell this story because it is described about the journal left for the son but goes through an uncomfortable meet and greet.
The jump between past and present doesn’t make this easy to keep up with and when it comes to most of the early relationship side of things, it drags along too much. This feels like a story that should be a lot more powerful than what we get, which only ends up leaving us expecting more.
Final Thoughts – A Journal for Jordan is a disappointing real-life drama, that gets lost down aimless paths.