You
know the title standard must be a bluesy torch-song, because it was first popularized
by Bessie Smith and subsequently covered by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and
Julie London. Pearl Simmons also recorded it, but the homecoming part probably
had more personal resonance for her than the wayward man. Sadly, she no longer
performs, presumably in part because her faculties are slowly slipping away in
Christopher Piazza’s short film Baby
Won’t You Please Come Home, which screens during the 2019 Winter Film Awards.
Simmons
and her contractor husband always took pride and pleasure in the elegant home
they purchased and fully restored in an affluent neighborhood. Over the years,
it was their source of security. Unfortunately, he passed three years ago. She
misses him during her moments of lucidity, but Simmons is getting increasingly lost
in her memories. She is also losing time, growing ever more forgetful, and
confusing past and present. Her grown daughter Cynthia fully recognizes the
problem, but her determination to protect and manage her mother might no longer
be realistic.
Viewers
can be confident the music in Baby is
legit, because young Simmons is played by rising star jazz vocalist Jazzmeia
Horn, who is backed by real deal jazz musicians like Andrew Gutauskas on
baritone saxophone (a somewhat unusual choice for a singer’s combo, but it
sounds great) and Steve Einerson or Adam Birnbaum on piano. Simmons’ choice of
repertoire also rather surprisingly leans towards the traditional. In addition
to “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home,” she also performs a powerful “Just a
Closer Walk with Thee” and a very nice “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (an Isham
Jones tune).
Piazza
nicely uses scenes of the younger singer at the peak of her performance powers
as a counterpart to the older, somewhat impaired Simmons. Horn really does not
have much to do from a dramatic standpoint, but she undeniably commands the
stage. On the other hand, Michelle Hurst is quite poignant, in a
heartbreakingly realistic way as the contemporary Simmons.
Baby would pair up
quite nicely with Richie Adams’ feature film, Of Mind and Music, both in terms of their respective themes and
musical content. The music swings, but Piazza also portrays the challenges of
dementia and care-giving with sensitivity and empathy. Recommended for jazz
patrons and fans of senior-focused dramas like Iris and On Gold Pond, Baby Won’t You Please Come Home screens
tonight (2/16) and Tuesday afternoon (2/19), as part of this year’s Winter Film
Awards.