“You deserve to be living, are you living?”

This poignant affirmation is one of many standout lines from Tayarisha Poe’s The Young Wife, available now on streaming platforms. A beautiful excavation of identity, societal pressures, and the quest for personal freedom, Poe and her dynamic cast let us peer inside a wonderfully chaotic yet deeply familiar world. The writer/director has been rightfully praised for her stunning use of imagery, but we quickly discover the layers go beyond what we see; they’re stacked throughout the film’s 98-minute runtime.

Set ten years into the future, the aesthetic blends retro details—like 80s-style tube TVs and landline telephones—and futuristic elements. The result is a seemingly timeless atmosphere that grounds the story with world-building that feels simultaneously nostalgic and innovative. At the heart of the film is Celestina, portrayed with remarkable depth by Kiersey Clemons. On her non-wedding day, she is a woman overwhelmed by the demands placed upon her.

"What do you need, Celestina?"

Focusing on a surface-level interpretation that reduces Celestina's story to having "cold feet" about marriage would be easy, but a deeper understanding is readily available. In less than 24 hours, we witness myriad ways she deals with the projections of others while striving to find and embrace her authenticity. Celestina's quest is not about escaping commitment—she’s seeking the courage to define herself despite the frenzy surrounding her.

As her guests arrive, she is surrounded by a large group of friends and family who have strong opinions on what her day should look like and who they need her to be in the world. The film explores her internal struggle through recurring visual motifs, such as the "Meditation Minute,” when an ethereal woman appears on an old-school TV screen and urges everyone to breathe. While those around her fall into a trance, Celestina remains unaffected and detached from her loved ones.

Throughout the storytelling, Celestina is weighed down— literally and figuratively—as she carries more than everyone else. “I very much related to Celestina and having my hands full,” Clemons reflected. When Celestina’s future husband, River (Leon Bridges), calmly reminds “Celly” that things always work out, she responds in a way that resonates with many of us as Black women:

“I make things work out. Things work out because I do them.”

“Being makes you matter.”As we follow Celestina’s existential crisis as a “young wife,” the film dives into aging. When her grandmother figure, Cookie (Judith Light), says, “As long as I’m here and old, they get to be here and young,” we’re further reminded of society’s mandates for how we should exist in our own bodies.

The film’s visual style, influenced partly by Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust,” echoes similar themes of family, identity, and the passage of time. “Daughters” also explores the lives of Black women within a specific cultural context, blending the past and present to create a layered narrative. For The Young Wife, Poe’s use of the color haint blue (traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits) and the incorporation of bottle trees (symbolic in Black folklore for capturing spirits), are among the deeply intentional ways she connects her narrative to deep cultural roots and conversations about what’s required of Black women.

During our interview, Poe recalled how folding laundry and feeling “flattened” by the societal role of being a Wife inspired the script and Celestina’s character arc. “It’s about how other people define you,” Poe explained, “and not about how Celestina is defining herself.”

"Recalibrate."

The Young Wife invites its audience to reflect on our lives and the societal pressures shaping them. As Celestina manages her frustrations and complicated relationships, we see ourselves immersed in her struggles and triumphs. The movie challenges as much as it inspires; Poe and Clemons have given us a glimpse of the resilience and strength required to navigate life’s myriad pressures, particularly as Black women.

Among the revelations made in conversation with Poe and Clemons is how The Young Wife addresses the concept of boundaries—or rather, the lack of boundaries. Poe admitted she hadn’t initially thought about that concept when writing the film. She laughed a bit, realizing, “Oh my God, is that what happens in my life?” Taking a moment to reflect, she continues, “I guess we never talked about boundaries.”

"How can I be so dissatisfied when I have so much?"

As Clemons discussed the internal conflicts Celestina faces, she shared how the judgments of those around her constantly burden the character. “By the end, she was still holding all of the weight of what’s in here… The heaviness of her heart was a bit lighter, but the people around her were still going to continue to expect a lot from her.” Celestina, like all of us, is a stunning work in progress. She was—and still is—on a path toward finding her voice and setting boundaries.

This realization underscores a significant aspect of the story: the unspoken, often invisible nature of boundaries in our relationships. Poe elaborated on this, explaining how the film illustrates a cycle of doing things for others, often without evaluating our own needs or desires. “You just keep moving. You just keep doing things, and things keep being done to you,” she said. This cycle, Poe noted, is something Celestina begins to confront as she learns how to accept and sidestep the burdens placed on her, transforming them into something more manageable.

“Let him choke if you must. You keep yourself whole.”

Clemons also reflected on her own life, particularly as a young Black woman navigating the entertainment industry. After a conversation with costar Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays Celestina’s larger-than-life mother, Clemons was determined to be assertive on set, particularly as the lead. Clemons recalled a moment when she stood up to a crew member who treated her unfairly. “I pulled him to the side and said, ‘Don’t ever do that to me again.’ And he said, ‘Okay, got it.’ But then he did something similar a week later. I thought, ‘I did it. I stepped up to the plate.’ So I pulled him aside again and made it clear. I was scared, but I knew I had to stand my ground.”

Further emphasizing the importance of standing firm in one’s identity and not compromising to make others comfortable, Clemons added, in a way that was both light-hearted and intentional: “I decided when I turned 30 that I don’t care if you don’t like me. I don’t care if you go tell people that I’m mean because I set a boundary with you.” Clemons said. This sentiment is also echoed in Celestina’s story; setting boundaries becomes an act of self-preservation and empowerment.

However, Celestina's trouble is not setting the boundaries but enforcing them.

“We are an us. The us is eternal.”

Clemons thoughtfully described a line from the movie about drowning, where the water rises slowly, mirroring the gradual build-up of life’s pressures: “When you drown in a subway car, it doesn’t just fill up quickly with water,” she says. “The anticipation slowly builds, and you watch the water rise slowly. That’s what life feels like.” This is the essence of Celestina’s journey—an ongoing struggle against being overpowered by external forces. While the film ends with joyful imagery of the wedding party in a choreographed group dance, Celestina remains out of sync with the rest. Her synchronization attempts make her off-beat steps seem as enigmatic as they are intentional.

“All will be well.”

The Young Wife is a resonant tale that explores the complex interplay between identity and expectations. Through rich symbolism and powerful performances, it offers a nuanced portrayal of a young woman’s strides toward self-assertion, authenticity, and empowerment. The film is a magically colorful beacon, reminding us that we are all—and will continue to be—stunning works in progress.

The Young Wife is now streaming on-demand.