The Color Purple

Sometimes it's better just not to re-imagine/invent/devise a feature that had such a visceral impact not just on the cinema, but on the theatre and, of course - the literary world in the first place. I"m not sure this isn't one of those. It follows the story of the young "Celie" who is essentially sold to a neighbour "Mister" (Colman Domingo) when she's barely into adulthood - for a cow and some eggs. Turns out his hale-fellow-well-met character is a bit deceptive: he's a bit of a misogynist brute who sees this woman as his property. With her now the plaything of another man, her sister "Nettie" becomes the latest object of the desires of their father and in panic she flees to "Celie" for help. Out of the frying pan into the fire, perhaps - she has soon to get away from there whilst the men folk continue as if nothing has happened. The chronology speeds up a bit now and we find ourselves dipping in at various stages of their lives only discover that little has changed and their opportunities are still tied by their apron strings. Until, that is, the arrival of the jazz sensation that is "Shug Avery" (Taraji P. Henson) who brings with her the winds of quite empowering change. Meantime, "Harpo" - the stepson of "Celie" has found himself a rather feisty and independently-minded wife in "Sofia" (Danielle Brooks) and we start to think that perhaps things might just be about to improve. The only abject lesson in racism to feature here occurs around this point demonstrating the cruelty and brutality that made this story abhorrently poignant in the first place. What now ensues instils a growing determination among these women to assert themselves and thrive on their own terms. Can they? What I found this lacked was the earthiness, the grittiness, the squalor of the 1985 screen version. It's also a musical at times but a pretty sterile and overly choreographed one that seemed to be unsure if it wanted to be "West Side Story" or "Washington Heights". There's an ensemble number by a waterfall with the water flowing with almost symmetrical and flawless evenness. Even the scenes of evil are somehow just a bit too de-sensitised. I think possibly the problem for me was that the powerful performance of Fantasia Barrino was just too good, and the power balled from her towards the end presented almost as if there were space for applause afterwards. Domingo is a good actor, too, but again here he just didn't cut it as either the charismatic charmer or the sexually rapacious bully - though he did fare a little better as the story moved on. The soundtrack has some belters and taken in isolation, there are some great performances here from Barrino, Henson and my favourite - Brooks; but I'd sooner watch the original, any day - it has more authenticity in it's impact.

A film of quality, this.

'The Color Purple' is a blast, what is a noteworthy thing for me to say given I'm not a lover of musicals; though, to be fair, I'm way more into them in recent years since doing reviews... have learnt to appreciate 'em! This has good music alongside an extremely deep narrative, one that hits the feels directly. I've never seen or read any version of this story previously, but this is a great introduction to it.

The performances are stellar. Danielle Brooks is outstanding, a real emotive showing from her throughout - top notch! I also seriously enjoyed (despite the character, who is iffily 'redeemed') Colman Domingo in this 2023 picture. He and Brooks are actors I've loved in television ('Orange Is the New Black and 'Fear the Walking Dead', the latter isn't the best show but Domingo is class in it), so it's extremely pleasing to see them star on the big screen.

It's somewhat of a crime it has taken me this long in my review to mention Fantasia, who is brilliant - Phylicia Pearl Mpasi is too, btw. Taraji P. Henson, obviously, impresses as well, while Halle Bailey spearheads the rest. Nice to see David Alan Grier also, as well as (like Domingo) another TWD alum in Corey Hawkins (whatever happened to Heath?!).

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve routinely made it clear that I’m not a big fan of movie musicals. In addition, less known is the fact that I’ve also never been particularly enamored with the original dramatic version of this story (1985), a picture in which director Steven Spielberg still had his training wheels on when it came to making serious cinematic fare. With those admissions in mind, then, it would appear that this latest iteration of the classic Alice Walker novel would have two prejudicial strikes against it going in, and that assessment would be accurate, as these qualifications sincerely reflect my characterization of this alternative take on this beloved tale. Director Blitz Bazawule’s musical adaptation of this tale about a young African-American woman (Fantasia Barrino) struggling to find happiness under harsh conditions in early 20th Century Georgia is plagued by an array of issues, including an ill-fitting fusion of this story in a Broadway format/context, an uneven distribution of production numbers throughout the course of the narrative, numerous over-the-top (and frequently silly) surreal song and dance sequences (many of which look like they’ve been plucked fresh from a Baz Luhrmann movie), understandable but nevertheless-disappointing plot and character development alterations, and some serious miscasting choices (such as the usually-reliable Colman Domingo, who’s decidedly out of place in the role of Mister). This combination of misfire elements makes for somewhat disappointing viewing for those who adored the book and original screen version and does little for winning over innately lukewarm supporters of the material (like me). Granted, the film gets better as it goes along (probably because there are fewer musical numbers in the second half than the first), and its ensemble cast, for the most part, is quite compelling, including Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, David Alan Grier, Corey Hawkins and Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks. However, on balance, this is one of those projects where things probably would have been better off left alone.