'A Jazzman's Blues': Tyler Perry Talks Departing From Comedy For His New Drama About Forbidden Love

Tyler Perry’s 23rd film, “A Jazzman’s Blues,” is a major departure for the seasoned director known for comedies and farces that are sometimes extremely broad. For “A Jazzman’s Blue,” the prolific filmmaker does a 180 into drama and romance. The story is set in Jim Crowe’s South and revolves around a forbidden love story about two star-crossed lovers.. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, prior to which the director and stars, Solea Pfeiffer and Joshua Boone, sat down for an interview to discuss themes like colorism as a cousin of racism and how the experience of making the film changed them.

Perry explained how an encounter with August Wilson inspired him to move forward with “A Jazzman’s Blues.”

READ MORE: ‘A Jazzman’s Blues’ Review: Tyler Perry Surprises With A Strong, Heartbreaking Romance [TIFF]

“It was after an August Wilson play, ‘Two Trains Running,’ when I ran into the playwright, and I was telling him my idea,” Perry explained. “He said, ‘go ahead, write what’s in your heart.’ That night I started writing ‘A Jazzman’s Blues.’” Me being from New Orleans, hearing the sounds of Bourbon Street while spending the summers with my Grandmother in rural Louisiana. I know this world.”

Passing for caucasian is one of the themes explored in “A Jazzman’s Blues.” It was frequently done in pre-civil rights America as a means to a better life, but it came at great cost and risk.

“During my own ancestry, I found out that there were people in my own family that passed as white on my mother’s side,” he revealed. “I was challenged by the thought of how you could do that, but I understood that if you were able to pass, you had an opportunity to live a better life because of that. I thought that was really an incredible universe to explore.”

The complexities of the family are a recurring theme in Perry’s films. In “A Jazzman’s Blues,” he delves deeply into how the hardships of life at the time took a toll on the Black family, particularly the fathers, and how those struggles were passed down to their children in terms of race.

“I borrowed some of that from my own life,” Perry said. “My older sister was very light-skinned and the apple of my father’s eye. Me and my other sister were the dark-skinned children and were treated terribly. It’s something I don’t practice with my own child however it’s something we still have occurring in families today and need to address.”

Music is another strength of this film. Perry explained, “Every moment of our lives, me in particular, is about music. I could come home from school and hear Gladys Knight coming out of someone’s house and knew that it would be a good day. So Music has always been so important in our lives, and that’s why it showed up in A Jazzman’s Blues.”

The two actors tasked with telling this complex love story are Solea Pfeiffer (Leanne) and Joshua Boone (Bayou). The young actors shared how making this film was a moving experience that made them reflect on their own families, particularly surrounding the subject of passing.

Pfeiffer, who is bi-racial herself, stated, “It’s not something that gets discussed or taught. We only had a couple of films that dealt with this subject. I learned a lot about the history of people like me. I learned that it was clandestine and that it was a decision that you would make that placed you in danger.”

Boone, who portrays Bayou, spoke on the sibling rivalry reflected in the film. “I have an older brother and a younger brother,” he explained. “You want, through the art of storytelling, to give love; however, sometimes you have to show the reality of that love to show people how to maneuver away from where they are presently.”

In the film, Leanne has a complicated family life of her own. Both of her parents traumatized her in childhood, but it is her relationship with her mother that alters the course of events for everyone.

The actress reflected on those exchanges between mother and daughter, “In the movie, it’s easy to get mad at the mother and feel like, ‘why would a mother put her daughter in that position?'” she said. “She just wants her daughter to have better than she did. Passing was a means to do that. It meant really strict rules on how you speak, behave and move. She basically was on Leanne, stating, “you have to be perfect or else that could mean the end of us.’”

“A Jazzman’s Blues” can be a difficult film to watch. Many of the themes explored are still present in the country today, but the artists involved hope that it prompts reflection on how we as a society can move forward and heal.

A Jazzman’s Blues” premieres on Netflix on September 23.