I have always had a soft spot for slice-of-life dramas that dig into the messiness of love, friendship and other random scenarios. And we don’t get nearly enough of them that center on Black Americans. That’s why Love, Brooklyn hit me right in the sweet spot.

The film explores themes of love, loss, and identity, set against the ever-shifting backdrop of Brooklyn. At the center is Moonlight‘s André Holland, who plays Roger, an indecisive journalist with writer’s block. He’s deep in a situationship with his ex, Casey (Nicole Beharie), while trying to move forward with DeWanda Wise’s bruised Lorna, a widow working through grief alongside her young daughter. And he owes his editor a very overdue article about how Brooklyn is changing.

It’s intimate and human, and the exact type of film I needed to see after getting absolutely rattled by the final Conjuring film.

Last Saturday, I got to see Love, Brooklyn at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles, the same theater where I recently caught a fantastic Q&A for Croupier with Clive Owen.

This time, the post-screening conversation featured Roy Wood Jr. and Cassandra Freeman, with Sterling K. Brown (!!) stepping in as moderator. It was one of those nights that reminded me why I love going to the movies.

The talk dug into the film’s long journey from page to screen, with Paul Zimmerman’s script transformed by director Rachael Holder and the cast into something uniquely Brooklyn.

Roy, who is effortlessly hilarious and incredibly thoughtful, spoke about how his character brought a married man’s perspective to the story, offering a grounded foil to Holland’s indecisive lead. Cassandra, who plays an unintentionally hilarious mutual friend, shared how much of her role came alive through improvisation, sprinkling humor and truth into her lines. Both made it clear that collaboration shaped the film as much as the script itself.

The film is a romantic dramedy, but it touches on the very real social issue of gentrification in Brooklyn. From Red Hook to Fort Greene, the borough’s shifting landscape of gentrification and art mirrored the characters’ struggles with belonging, choices, and change.

The low-budget indie, executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, was scrappy in the best ways, even filming scenes at Cassandra Freeman’s own home to stretch the budget.

Freeman, who also stars in Bel-Air, spoke about how stunned she was to come back after filming and find her neighborhood transformed almost overnight, with breweries, wine bars, and even a pinball museum making her feel like a tourist on her own block.

Roy Wood Jr. recalled how, during his time as a correspondent on The Daily Show, he interviewed longtime Brooklyn residents who wrestled with whether to sell brownstones that had been in their families for generations. That same pressure surfaces in the film through Nicole Beharie’s Casey, who fields nonstop calls from developers eager to buy her art gallery. Both on and offscreen, Love, Brooklyn captures the borough’s evolving identity with warmth and authenticity.

The cast also tackled the film’s deeper questions about love. Roy summed it up perfectly: You can’t keep “four or five pots on the stove” and expect to find the real thing. You have to make a choice. Cassandra added that connection without vulnerability isn’t real intimacy. Together, they painted a picture of a film that asks us to watch these characters navigate love and reflect on what we want for ourselves.

It was a funny and heartfelt conversation that elevated the film even more for me.

Go watch the movie while it’s in theaters then check out the full Q&A with Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman, and moderator Sterling K. Brown below: