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Promesse d'Amour

Original title: The Wedding
  • TV Movie
  • 1998
  • 3h
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
564
YOUR RATING
Halle Berry, Lynn Whitfield, Carl Lumbly, and Eric Thal in Promesse d'Amour (1998)
DramaRomance

In 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and... Read allIn 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and class-based marriages.In 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and class-based marriages.

  • Director
    • Charles Burnett
  • Writers
    • Dorothy West
    • Lisa Jones
  • Stars
    • Halle Berry
    • Eric Thal
    • Lynn Whitfield
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    564
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Charles Burnett
    • Writers
      • Dorothy West
      • Lisa Jones
    • Stars
      • Halle Berry
      • Eric Thal
      • Lynn Whitfield
    • 12User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 nominations total

    Photos

    Top cast35

    Edit
    Halle Berry
    Halle Berry
    • Shelby Coles
    Eric Thal
    Eric Thal
    • Meade Howell
    Lynn Whitfield
    Lynn Whitfield
    • Corinne Coles
    Carl Lumbly
    Carl Lumbly
    • Lute McNeil
    Michael Warren
    Michael Warren
    • Clark Coles
    Marianne Jean-Baptiste
    Marianne Jean-Baptiste
    • Ellen Coles
    Cynda Williams
    Cynda Williams
    • Liz Odis
    Charlayne Woodard
    Charlayne Woodard
    Richard Brooks
    Richard Brooks
    • Lincoln Odis
    Gabriel Casseus
    Gabriel Casseus
    • Hannibal
    Shirley Knight
    Shirley Knight
    • Gram (Miss Caroline)
    Ethel Ayler
    Ethel Ayler
    • Eunice
    Paul Butler
    • Preacher
    Peter Francis James
    Peter Francis James
    • Isaac Coles
    Carl Gordon
    Carl Gordon
    • Mr. Hawkins
    Margo Moorer
    Margo Moorer
    • Emmaline
    Shilla Benning
    Shilla Benning
    • Gigi
    Joseph Bias
    • Young Isaac
    • Director
      • Charles Burnett
    • Writers
      • Dorothy West
      • Lisa Jones
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    6.1564
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    Featured reviews

    6Sergio Vicente

    nice sets, landscapes.... beautiful Berry

    Things I liked about The Wedding:

    Halle Berry - fresh, beautiful, talented, what a lovely smile... the environment, the sets, the costumes (colors, styles, characterization), the lights and the colors of the scenes... the pear, the shore line, the woods, Marta's Vineyard sure must be a beautiful place. The beautiful white houses, the make-up displayed, the hairdos, the lines, the fact that it doesn't show violence, the fact that it deals with individual choice and the effect our choices have in others life. It suites the purpose of a TV movie, it has a message, it is clean, and healthy subject to watch and to think about. It's nice.
    6shelbycoles2005

    Factual representation of African-American life

    The Wedding (1998) was a fine attempt to bring to life a brilliant book. Although I understand that Oprah Winfrey may have wanted to have "stars" in her movie, aesthetically they just don't fit. The book states again and again that the Coles family could have "passed" for white had they wanted to. There is a very important part of the book that describes the day Shelby got lost and everyone (read: white) thought they were looking for a little "colored" girl and therefore it couldn't be this beautiful BLUE-EYED, BLOND-HAIRED, little girl...until she tells them her name, and then they're horrified.

    Although I think this cast did a wonderful job, I can't help but be bothered by the blatant disregard for a major plot point in Dorothy West's novel. That being said, if the viewer is aware beforehand, I think this movie is worth seeing simply because there are so few factual representations of African-Americans in the media. I know many African-American families that live and act as the Coles family does; I have yet to meet an African-American family that lives or acts the way the Parkers do.
    9moses_29115

    Oprah Winfrey does it again with The Wedding

    I loved this movie. It shows that prejudice is not just black and white, but also light and dark and have and have not! The movie is realistic because we hear terms like "beautiful light-skinned", "getting too dark" and "good hair" every day. The movie also shows how easy it is for that prejudice to be passed on from generation to generation and that the coming of age period in a person's life should not be taken lightly because that is the opportunity to right wrongs learned from the previous generation. Granted some may see this movie and hate the grandmother, to do so would be to liken yourself to her. Self hate exists among each race. It is particularly sad within the African American community because of the difficulty and intensity of the struggle for freedom. Humankind has to learn to be beautiful in spirit and in love. I think that is the point of the story.
    4Telltruthanyway

    Annoyingly self-indulgent...

    Overall, I thought this was a self-indulgent, long-winded film. I didn't read the book and was fascinated to read how different it was. Still predictable is the glorification of "poor" and rich or accomplished as somehow suspect. All of these are the same kind of stereotypes as the film attempts to criticize.

    There are certainly some good moments but most of the time, I forced myself to watch so I could finally see how it ended. I'm sorry to say, it wasn't worth the wait. The best part of the film is of course the gorgeous Halle Berry, who doesn't have to do much to be spectacular, and the portrayal of upper class black society. That was as much a revelation as Spielberg's film in which we learned the little known fact that slavery was begun in Africa and there were Black free men in the North during slavery--something of which many people are completely unaware.

    Additionally, I don't see bias towards interracial marriage here. I see bias against building enough character development to have us care about the people.
    3kmm1128

    A flawed production based on a flawed book.

    I read the reviews of this movie and I am shocked and appalled that so many people found this a worthwhile production. While, it is true that the movie is an accurate portrayal of upper class black socialites in the 1930s-1950s, there are so many elements of this movie and the book on which it was based that I found offensive.

    First of all, let me set the record straight for all those who do not know. This movie was based on "The Wedding," a book by the renowned Harlem Rennaissance writer Dorothy West. It is NOT based on a true story in any way, shape or form.

    I have read other works by Dorothy West and found them to be very interesting. She set herself apart from the other Harlem Rennaissance writers at the time by writing about black upper middle-class, a social hierarchy that has gone virtually unexplored throughout African-American Literature. However, when I read "The Wedding," I was deeply resentful. The underlying tone of racism against interracial relationships staggers me, as I am a multiracial person. I found the characters detestable and the fact that there is virtually no plot progression throughout the novel is a huge problem. Ninety percent of the novel is backstory.

    Many of these same elements are portrayed in the movie version of this book to the nth degree. First of all, Shelby Coles is supposed to be white. She is not light-skinned like Halle Berry. She is WHITE. She has blond hair and blue-eyes. She is the product of so many blends of black and white that her blackness has been genetically wiped out on the surface. The fact that they cast Halle Berry to play Shelby Coles destroys the only redeeming quality I found in the book. This is the scene where Shelby gets lost as a little girl and no one can find her because the police report says that she is black, but she looks white. Using this scene to establish the unequal treatment society puts on whites and blacks was the only redeeming quality I found in this book.

    There are several other elements that I found so offensive from this movie (mostly character-wise) that it would be impossible to mention them all.

    This is a deeply resentful movie about interracial relations, and should not have been made into a movie. This was the last book that Dorothy West wrote before she died, and I'm wondering if that has something to do with its irregular quality. All I know is that if you are multiracial or biracial, do not, under any circumstances, watch this movie or read West's book. Read some of the other books by West. They are so much better.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      As of 2025, this television miniseries is the only on-screen adaptation of any of Dorothy West's novels.
    • Quotes

      Corinne Coles: You've undermined me all my life. You've only loved part of me, and that's not enough.

      Gram: How can... how can you say that? I... I dedicated my life to you.

      Corinne Coles: You've always measured me by your standards. My mother was never happy because of you. I married for the wrong reasons, because for you.

      Gram: Talk... all this talk is nonsense. You should be thinking about Shelby's wedding.

      Corinne Coles: My life is falling apart. My husband is leaving me.

      Gram: I don't want to think about that. I can't... I can't think about that.

      Corinne Coles: You should think about that. You should think about what you've done to me, and my mother, and my father.

    • Connections
      References Printemps tardif (1949)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Wedding
    • Filming locations
      • Southport, North Carolina, USA
    • Production companies
      • Hamdon Entertainment
      • Harpo Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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    Halle Berry, Lynn Whitfield, Carl Lumbly, and Eric Thal in Promesse d'Amour (1998)
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