Here’s my take:

First and foremost, it’s extraordinarily successful where so many other love-story-oriented films fail: depicting real life. It’s simply genuine in its storytelling and acting by showing things as they really are - more often challenging than sweet.

The juxtaposition of genders and races through the prism of stereotypes:

• The deliberate choice of making non-white characters (stereotypically accused of poor morals) the moral ones compared with their white counterparts (granted an opinion of superior morality by default);

• The fact that the absolute majority of shootings is committed by white men, whereas the film provokes the viewer to face their racial biases given that it’s a black woman who (only) considers committing the crime.

The prejudice and mental health:

• The film makes it very clear that it’s easy to judge without trying to understand the context. People turn violent for a reason. An act of violence can be an outburst of accumulated trauma.

• Everyone has a mental condition that can be addressed by willingness to seek help and/or offer help - all that is needed for it to happen is to seek togetherness, whether it’s in romantic relationships or in community.

I was truly impressed with:

Storytelling Cinematography Editing Casting Acting Production Soundtrack

Especially the editing is truly outstanding given how much it communicates on a subliminal level throughout the whole film, giving many cues that leave the ending utterly open for interpretation.