George Tillman Jr, The Longest Ride

George Tillman Jr. is an African American filmmaker whose previous work has been semi-autobiographical (Soul Food) or about the African American experience (Men of Honor, Notorious). This time, however, Tillman Jr. accomplishes a wonderful romantic drama The Longest Ride. The film charts and contrasts a World War II love affair and marriage against a contemporary one between a professional bull riding cowboy and a gifted art student ready to apprentice in Manhattan. It boasts four second/third generation actors: Jack Huston and Oona Chaplin as the '40s couple, Alan Alda as Huston today and Scott Eastwood as the bullrider, along with a terrific new actress named Britt Robertson.

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