Journal part of title, but it’s not mentioned much
“A Journal for Jordan,” opening Christmas Day in theaters, is such a sweetly wellintentioned film — one meant to bring a Christmastime lump in the throat in a year that gave us so many lumps of coal — that it feels churlish and downright Scrooge-like to point out its flaws. But the subject matter deserves better than this overlong melodrama spiked with occasional moments of welcome humor and pathos.
The movie is based on the life of the late 1st Sgt. Charles King, a soldier killed in the line of duty while serving in Iraq, played ably here by Michael B. Jordan. King left behind a grieving girlfriend, Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams), a young son, Jordan, and a journal filled with life lessons for the child he never got to know. Directed by Denzel Washington from a script by Canedy (who wrote the article and subsequent book on which the film is based) and Virgil Williams (who wrote the excellent “Mudbound”), “A Journal for Jordan” surprisingly doesn’t delve very deep into what’s actually in the journal.
Instead, it’s largely a story about Charles and Dana’s courtship and relationship. Dana, a hard-driving reporter for the New York Times on the rebound from a recent breakup, meets Charles at a get-together at her parents’ house. Charles had served under Dana’s dad and sees him as a father figure, so he kept in contact long after her father’s retirement.
Sparks fly immediately between Charles and Dana, even though he’s more of an oldschool R&B guy and she likes more current sounds. He sweeps her off her feet with his sense of chivalry and discipline, and they enter a whirlwind romance — though she doubts herself and has to get constant reassurance from her Greek chorus of workplace friends.
“A Journal for Jordan” is a diverting showcase for Jordan and Adams, who have an easygoing chemistry that’s a pleasure to watch. If this were just supposed to be a romantic drama like Stella Meghie’s “The Photograph” from last year, that might be enough. (Though, even then, it might not be enough to sustain the
more than two-hour running time.) But “A Journal for Jordan,” in theory, has more on its mind than their romantic bliss; it’s about the lessons of a hard-fought life that Charles passes to his son.
The journal’s impact doesn’t really start to resonate until the end of the film when the teenage Jordan (Jalon Christian)
tries to come to terms with his father’s legacy and what his life and death meant. The final moments are quite moving but also frustrating as they underscore what “A Journal for Jordan” might have been.