Their Eyes Were Watching God

Before I start I have to say that I did not read the book. I am now on the prowl to purchase the book so all I can say in response to the movie is I liked it!!! I thought that Halle did a good job with the character as the character was described to me. I do know that it is quite difficult to ever create a movie that compares to a book anytime. Thousand of people have tried and nearly all of them have failed. Having read the book before the movie automatically set the movie up for failure. Having seen the movie and heard about the book it is now making me want to read the book. So you cannot say that the movie failed that bad if myself and other people I know who saw the movie all want the book. It is also kind of harsh to say that the movie was that awful, it was a love story and that was what was portrayed. When I was done watching that movie I was in love with the characters, I did not see Halle's character as a sleep around or whatever you called her. She was set up with an old man and she left, I would have done the same thing acres of land or not. She was with her 2nd husband until the end even though she was unhappy. And then my man Michael Ealy came and that was it. Dark or light who cares, I sure did not!!! It is a movie and if you are not familiar with Hollywood looks matter, if Halle's character was supposed to have been unattractive she still would have been beautiful for the movie it is just the way it is! Also both actors did a phenomenal job and I did not know that Michael Ealy was actually that good of an actor and I think this role will help him. Now who know I may change my mind after reading the book but I doubt it for the simple fact that if it was not for this movie I would have probably never bought the book!!! You go Oprah this movie was great!!! Two thumbs up!

There are at least a few good things about the made for television version of Ms. Hurston's classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God. The first being the cinematography, as it is often moody, always rich, and at points ethereal: the water could not be bluer, nor could the people be more vibrantly brown. Also, it is worth noting the clever choices Mr. Martin made when deciding what to film. For instance, in the scene when Janie lies in bed with her first husband and ponders what he would do if she were to ever leave him, the director gives us a rather telling portrait of their relationship with just a few shots. He begins making the inner thigh of Logan Killicks' the center of the frame, thus allowing us to see the old man's flabby skin as it nearly falls from its bone. It is a sensitive portrait; for Killicks is no longer repulsive to the viewer- he is simply ashen, old, and, most importantly, an inappropriate suitor for the supple Janie.

Unfortunately, with the exception of a fine performance by Nicki Michauex and the delight of seeing Ruby Dee working, I find little else commendable about this theatrical mishap. To begin, it seems everyone involved with this production, from the screenwriters, producers, director, and the dialect coach- if one existed at all, did everything in their power to strip TEWWG of its blackness. And by the erasure of "blackness" I am referring to the production's lack of humor and word play, the lack of southern accents and sense of community, that there is no juke joint, hard work, eroticism, and constant reminders of racism so key to Hurston's understanding of the rural Black experience. (What so many Brooklyn accents were doing in Eatonville Florida is beyond me! Moreover, why Halle Berry was not encouraged to do something with her voice, other than what she did in Finding Isaiah is equally distressing.) Those who have read and care deeply about the book will also find disappointing the screenwriters' insistence on whittling down such an obvious celebration and examination of black rural life into a love story, as the camera simply refuses to venture beyond Teacake and Janie's bedroom.

Most regrettably, is the omission of life on the muck, where Janie and her man worked as migrant workers along with persons with colorful names like Bootyny, Sop-de-Bottom, and Stew Beef. For life on the muck, according to Ms. Hurston provides a complex view of Black life. It was in those pages, after all, us readers watched the workers dance at the juke, play the dozens, and deal with their respective experiences of being black, transient, impoverished, and yet, amazingly resilient. This they did with imagination, wit, ingenuity, and violence.

On a sadder note it was on the muck that Teacake beat Janie as other men so proudly beat their women, thereby showing us what Nanny really meant when she confirmed "de n***er woman" to be "de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see." Also, it was via the beating that us readers understood the union of Janie and Teacake to be problematic, if not doomed and not just an excuse for the cheesy face licking of Ms. Berry and Mr. Ealy.

Sadly, these factors will all be lost on those who forwent the novel and settled for the television spectacle. One can only hope that Ms. Winfrey and company's pedestrian effort will encourage others to examine or reexamine Ms. Zora Neale Hurston's masterpiece.

I didn't think this was that bad. It is a woman's story about going through a few relationships before finding love.

The film is well made with acting, camera work and pace all being consistently good. I also thought the plot was well scripted. However, I never really felt as much passion I think one would want from this sort of film.

I am a Black woman and I have read Their Eyes Were Watching God many times, most recently when I learned that Oprah Winfrey and ABC were presenting the television movie. I was absolutely horrified at what I saw on Sunday. Halle Berry simply did not do justice to the character she sought to portray. Janie Crawford is a dignified, free spirited, intelligent, strong character. The portrayal presented on ABC was insulting to the memory of Zora Neale Hurston in that Berry played Janie as a flighty, promiscuous, immodest tart who went off with whatever man appealed to her at any given moment. And to add insult to injury, Suzan Lori Parks neglected to adequately address a number of the important issues raised by Ms. Hurston, specifically the issues of skin tone and class among Black folks. How could Michael Ealy possibly play Tea Cake, who Ms. Hurston wrote as a dark skinned Black man, not the perpetually sweaty, open-shirted, light-skinned, mumbling buffoon presented to us on Sunday? I watched the movie with four other Black people, two men and two women. No one had anything positive to say about the movie. I held on as long as I could, but after two hours, I had to agree with my fellow viewers: the movie was horrible. Shame on all involved who had any sort of creative control over this debacle. May Hurston haunt you until you know better.

If one has not read the book _Their Eyes Were Watching God_, then the movie was probably wonderful. Unfortunately, for those who have read the book, it is obvious that the screenplay writer missed some important aspects of the book-- or for some reason chose to omit them. The plot in the movie revolves around Janie and her love affairs, however, what is most important to Janie, in the book, is feeling loved and accepted not only by a man, but her community.

Janie is a "light-skinned" African American and is treated different because of it. The book addresses a caste system that was prominent at the time that Hurston wrote the book. This important aspect of the story was not addressed in the movie. This is just one of many "aspects" that was not addressed.

On the up side, the casting is superb. Halle Berry is perfect for the part of Janie. She is beautiful and strong while being sensitive and vulnerable. Michael Ealy is a wonderful Tea Cake. What chemistry!

All in all the movie is-- OK. Hopefully, it will entice the viewers to read Zora Neale Hurston's fabulous book.