Amazon's New Black Romance Movie Has Nabbed An Awesome Rotten Tomatoes Score

Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asmugha in Amazon's Sylvie's Love

Although movie theaters continue to be closed as the pandemic rages on, we haven’t been lacking in cinematic entertainment. VOD and streaming have become even more important safe havens for various movies to grab people’s attention, and one of the final films released in 2020 was Amazon Prime Video’s Sylvie’s Love, starring Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asmugha. Well, this movie is clearly a critical hit judging by its impressive Rotten Tomatoes score.

At the time of this writing, Sylvie’s Love has 96 professional reviews tallied on Rotten Tomatoes, and with a 92% Tomatometer, naturally it’s been Certified Fresh. While the Audience Score isn’t quite as high for Sylvie’s Love, but 80% still isn’t anything to shrug off. So if you’re in the mood to stream a romantic movie (albeit one on the dramatic side rather than a comedy) and are game to take a break from Netflix’s offerings, Sylvie’s Love looks to be a solid choice, though no information has been released on its viewership numbers.

Sylvie’s Love premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020, after which Amazon Studios acquired the movie and released it onto Prime Video on December 23. It was the last Amazon Studios movie to be released directly to Prime Video in 2020, as both One Night in Miami and Herself are currently playing in limited theaters before they premiere on the streaming service later this month. Amazon Studios’ other notable 2020 movies included 7500, My Spy, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Sound of Metal and Uncle Frank.

Set in late 1950s Harlem, Sylvie’s Love follows Tessa Thompson’s Sylvie Parker meeting Nnamdi Asmugha’s Robert Hallowway, an aspiring saxophonist, in her father’s music store. The two of them quickly become romantically involved, with their relationship transcending “changing times, geography, and professional success. The cast of Sylvie’s Love also includes Aja Naomi King, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Regé-Jean Page (of Bridgerton fame), Eva Longoria, Ed Weeks, Lane Reddick and Ron Funches, among others.

While Sylvie’s Love was Tessa Thompson’s only 2020 movie, she kept quite busy in 2019, starring in Avengers: Endgame, Men in Black International and Disney+’s live-action Lady and the Tramp remake, as well as appearing as herself in Between Two Ferns: The Movie and continuing her tenure on the HBO series Westworld. Coming up, Thompson’s set to appear in Thor: Love and Thunder and Creed 3, among other projects. As for Nnamdi Asmugha, his credits include Leverage, the Friday Night Lights TV series, Crown Heights and When the Streetlights Go On.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for all the latest and greats in movie news. If you’re curious about what’s heading to the big screen later this year, scan through our 2021 release schedule. You can also keep track of the best movies to stream on Prime Video in January 2021 with our detailed lineup.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.