The Color Purple

It's a decent new adaptation of The Color Purple with gorgeous production designs, solid direction and good performances from the cast members. Director Blitz Bazawule does a solid work on handling the tone and setting alongside with the production sets, costumes, and camerawork being really colorful and beautiful. The musical singing moments, while some of the musical tracks weren't great, were solid with some pretty good lyrics and musical tones explored. Many of the performances were pretty good as there wasn't a single poor performance.

Since I have read the book and seen the first adaptation from Steven Spielberg which I really liked, I felt the emotional core and writing isn't as strong as it could be as there were some elements that felt thin and could have been explored a bit more. Since this is based on the broadway version, I haven't seen the broadway version so that might explain the disconnection. There were some pacing issues and some of the dialogue moments were a little odd. Overall, it's a decent adaptation but I prefer to watch Steven Spielberg's version.

This is a musical adaptation of the stage musical based on the book. After the 1985 classic film, the hurdle gets to be quite high. It is also part of the recent trend of surprise musicals. They are not pushing the fact that these are musicals and the less informed audience members are getting surprised. This has great actors doing all the skills. It is technically great. It looks great. The performers are working at top notch level. It is very choreographed stage musical and that may be the problem.

I am still unsettled on this idea. The subject matter is so dark that the musical genre takes away some of the needed grittiness. It's not only a musical. It's the old timey choreographed energetic dancing type. It is showy Broadway and that overwhelms the dark complex story. Yet others do it well, but I would suggest that they always do it better on the live stage. There is an artificiality to the production when it's on the screen. It can't help but feel fake.

The original film of The Color Purple was certainly not a musical with all the constant singing and dancing in the middle of scenes. It was far superior to this one. I would file this under movies that do not to be remade and definitely not turned into musicals. I found myself turned off repeatedly in the middle of a serious scene where hat everyone would bust into song and start dancing everywhere. The music and dancing ruined this film for me. It's a shame too because the actors and actresses were all excellent and would have done much better without the constant distraction of music and dancing routines. This is not a comedy. It's a serious drama. But it was hard to take it seriously with all the silliness in between the dramatic scenes. Sorry but I would NOT recommend this disappointment of a remake.

Greetings again from the darkness. It all began with Alice Walker's 1982 novel, for which she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Shortly thereafter, Steven Spielberg turned it into the movie event of 1985, with a memorable cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and yes, Oprah Winfrey. The film received eleven Oscar nominations, yet was shut out in all categories. Jumping ahead 20 years (2005), Marsha Norman created a musical stage book that turned into a smash hit on Broadway, receiving eleven Tony nominations. It was 2015 when the musical revival hit the stage, re-establishing the story as part of the fabric of the entertainment world. Along the way, Ms. Walker's book had been frequently banned and censored, and the adaptations were sure to pick and choose what to cover and how to do so. Here we are forty-one years after the book's publication, and director Blitz Bazawule (Beyonce's BLACK IS KING, 2020) delivers a moving and bold film version (screenplay by Marcus Gardley) based on the musicals, the novel, and the original film.

The film opens on the Georgia coast in 1909 by establishing the bond between young Celie (newcomer Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey, THE LITTLE MERMAID). When the two are forcefully separated, Celie loses the hope Nettie always provided, and soon she's living a miserable existence as one abused by Mister (a powerful Colman Domingo, RUSTIN) who treats her poorly by regularly taking out his frustrations. Assuming the role she made her own on Broadway is Fantasia Barrino as adult Celie, whose presence and spirit contain the heart of the story.

Memorable characters and performances are everywhere we turn in this production. Danielle Brooks ("Orange is the New Black") is a powerhouse as Sophia, a role she also owned on stage. Sophia is wife to Harpo (Corey Hawkins, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON), one of the few men trying to break the tradition of abuse ... not that he has much choice. Taraji B Henson is a jolt of energy as singer Shug Avery, one of the few women from this neck of the woods who gained independence and made a life (mostly) on her terms.

The supporting cast is filled with talent and surprises. David Allen Grier appears as Reverend Avery, Shug's estranged dad. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (ORIGIN) appears in flashbacks as Celie's Mama. Elizabeth Marvel ("Homeland") is the unforgiving and racist wife of the Mayor, and one who has such an impact on Sophia's life. Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr (now 87 years old) shows us exactly how his son Mister turned out the way he did. As this is a musical, we would expect musicians to play a part, though it's quite a treat to see H. E. R. As Squeak (Harpo's girlfriend), Jon Batiste as Grady (Shug's fashionable husband), and Ciara in a critical appearance as grown-up Nettie. There is also a well-placed cameo early on that harkens back to Spielberg's movie.

Covering at least the decades of 1907 through 1945, we see how each character changes depending on their circumstances ... especially Celie and Sophia, as well as an attempt at redemption by Mister. At least three 'showstopper' songs are included here. Taraji B Henson offers a rousing "Push da Button", and Danielle Brooks is adamant about where she stands with "Hell No." Fantasia Barrino's "I'm Here" may be the highlight since it encapsulates her resilience and perseverance. The quality of the film is evident in all aspects: cinematography (Dan Laustsen), score (Kris Bowers), Production and Set Design (Oscar winner Paul D Austerberry, Larry Dias), and Costumes - especially Shug Avery's - (Francine Jamison Tanchuk, Rashad Corey). Serving as Producers are Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Alice Walker, and Scott Sanders, to name a few with long time ties to the story. It's clearly a labor of love and passion for those involved, and ends with a tear-jerker reunion over Easter dinner. Not many follow the production trek of novel to film to musical to musical revival to musical film, and even fewer have ever done it this well.

Opens in theaters nationwide on Christmas Day.

I'll start by saying that several performances were REALLY good, particularly Shug and Sophia (hello, Oscar?). But the movie felt flat. I know this is a different version (from the Broadway show) and definitely not a remake of the Steven Spielberg film. And while the music was good, I found it distracting, inserted into the story rather than advancing the story like a musical should. The characters felt undeveloped and ultimately unresolved. We saw some of the brutality of Mister but not his cruelty. We saw kindness of Celie but not her true goodness. And finally the choreography. It was good, if this had been on stage. In the movie, the action of the story stops so the action of the dancing can begin. So it called attention to itself instead of, again, advancing the story without our noticing.

It's not a bad movie. It's just not really good.