I remember about this time last year, as Gabbing Geek was putting together its annual “Year of Anticipation” post, someone asked to include The Color Purple for movies. I was confused: was someone actually trying to remake a Steven Spielberg movie? That just seems like a bad idea on so many levels, especially while Spielberg himself is still alive, well, and working. But I was then told that this version was actually a cinematic adaptation of a Broadway musical version. OK, that’s different.
It also helps that, when I finally saw a trailer, that I saw Spielberg’s name listed as a producer, as was Oprah Winfrey’s (she did win an Oscar for her performance in Spielberg’s movie), and I figured it was probably going to be OK. You know, at least as far as not being a remake goes. What about the rest of the movie?
Sisters Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie (Halle Bailey) live with their abusive father in early 20th century Georgia. Celie starts the movie pregnant, and it soon turns out that this is her second child, and as with the first, her father takes the baby away to “give to God.” Not long after that, the man known for most of the movie as “Mister” (Colman Domingo) comes by looking to marry Nettie. The girls’ father isn’t interested in marrying Nettie off to this guy, but he can have Celie. Celie has always been a timid girl, and it doesn’t take long before Celie finds out her new husband isn’t exactly going to be a loving spouse. That comes mostly because he makes her walk behind his horse to his house where she is immediately expected to clean the place, cook dinner, and take care of the kids. Mister later forces Nettie away, and as Nettie was the one person Celie was ever really close to, it just makes the timid young woman even more miserable.
As time passed, Celie (played by Fantasia Barrino as an adult) hasn’t found her life getting any better. But she soon finds some relief in the support of some very strong women in her life. First, there’s Sofia (Danielle Brooks), the strong-willed wife of Mister’s son Harpo (Corey Hawkins), a woman whose motto is basically “Hell no!” And then there’s blues singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), estranged daughter of the local minister (David Alan Grier), and the one woman who Mister ever genuinely loved but, for some reason, never married. Both of these women are disapproved of by other members of the community for very different reason, but both encourage Celie to assert herself more, even in a society where women, especially black women, are kept down by societal pressures. Can Celie find a place for herself with a family of her own and out from under the abusive man she was forced to marry?
So, I have some mixed feelings on this movie. I had a hard time figuring out how much I did or didn’t like the movie as I was watching it. I don’t have a good explanation for that. On the one hand, the songs, much of the choreography, and the singing were all spectacular. Barrino and Brooks reprised their roles from the Broadway musical, and I have no complaints at all about the singing. That said, Barrino’s Celie is pretty easy to lose track of. Granted, the character is supposed to somewhat blend into the background, but she’s also still the main character, so there should be a happy medium. Furthermore, The Color Purple is a very emotional story, and something about the way this movie is paced and set seems to rush through some of those deeply dramatic moments. Something about this movie just didn’t sit right with me.
However, I will say this much: Danielle Brooks pretty much steals every scene she’s in. There aren’t any really bad performances or anything, even Barrino’s given how much she seems to fade into the background, but Brooks manages to go from silent misery to boisterous laughter to rueful tears in a matter of minutes on one great scene. Her “Hell No!” song is easily the best of the movie, and pretty much any scene where she is given something to do makes the movie just that much better. I may not have liked the way this movie was paced, but for the music alone, particularly with Brooks, I’d give this one a solid recommendation.
Grade: B-
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