Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

During the opening credits of Damien Chazelle's Boston-based black-and-white 16mm-shot jazz musical, Guy (Jason Palmer) and Madeline (Desiree Garcia) break up. The sequence ends with Madeline sitting alone on a park bench, but the story actually begins some time after that. The narrative eschews expository dialogue, but it's clear that Madeline sings and Guy plays the trumpet. The duo are portrayed as leading separate but parallel lives—goofing around with friends, fending off street vendors, and getting hit on by sad strangers. A recent MFA grad, Madeline rents a room, takes a job at a diner, and dates an older man (played by the director's father, Bernard), while Guy hangs out with his girlfriend, Elena (Sandha Khin). Although the characters run in the same circles, they keep missing each other. Springing organically from the slender story, the music flowers in clubs, public squares, and restaurants (in the latter, the entire wait staff joins Madeline in a tap-dance routine). Although it takes a while to get cooking, the scenario becomes steadily more absorbing, while the classic-sounding original songs are impressive. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)