Event

Love & Basketball

A young African-American couple navigates the tricky paths of romance and athletics in this drama. Quincy McCall (Omar Epps) and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. They've followed the game all their lives and have no small amount of talent on the court. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball. Love and Basketball was the first feature film for writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who previously helmed several comedy specials for Dave Chappelle. Spike Lee co-produced.

"The humor is terrific, the cinematography has a burnished glow, and the score is lush." Desson Thomson, The Washington Post

"Told largely from the point of view of the woman, this career-versus-love story still develops the perspective of the man persuasively, as Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps reveal their characters' motives with nuances of expression that transcend the dialogue." - Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

"Stylishly shot and bursting with visual and sexual energy, this is confident black women's film-making and an eloquent tribute to the girl with the permanently grazed knees -- and about time too." - Geoff Andrew, Time Out

"Without making a big deal about safe sex or even virginity, Gina Prince-Bythewood crafts a love story that resonates with unusual sincerity in the Age of Irony Love & Basketball transcends the simplicity of just alienation, as it reaches for romantic equality and miraculously achieves it." - Justine Smith, Vague Visages

"It's in the small touches that this movie comes alive, and it's rare that directors can pull off this kind of thing." Elvis Mitchell, NY Times

"The most passionate, clear-sighted movie ever made about women in sports." - Amy Taubin, Village Voice