La couleur pourpre

Ok so I thought long & hard about my viewing of The Color Purple last night. I feel it's a bit sacrilegious to say it wasn't my favorite movie. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I will tell you why, spoiler free!

First the good- the acting, cinematography & production were stellar! Costume & set design were top notch & the vocal performances were great. I LOVE Danielle Brooks and honestly wished she was on screen more (more into that later). Fantasia's acting performance was great, as was the rest of the cast. Colman Domingo, who played Mister, was good too.

Now the bad... ok, so this is a musical, which isn't an issue but I feel that part of the story was lost/glossed over, especially Celie's & Sophia's strife, for the sake of song & dance. I never read the book, nor saw the Broadway production so I can't only compare it to the Spielberg 80's production, which (I may add) is one of my favorite movies. I feel a hard time connecting with the characters and their story seemed to have gotten diminished. I think another 30 minutes could have easily been added to the movie to help with character development instead of displaying year stamps to show the passing of time. It felt too play-like in some parts too.

Celie had a messed up life (putting it mildly to avoid spoilers) which you kinda felt it but not really. Her story felt very rushed with a quick conclusion that felt a bit weak to me. Same with Sophia. Danielle Brooks is very comfortable in the Sophia role & played her so well, that her lack of screen time was felt. She dominated the scenes she was in but felt her character was thrown in a dark hole to just pop up every now & then to remind you she existed. Taraji P. Henson was good as Shug Avery but even she felt toned down, especially her relationship with the pastor, played by David Alan Grier.

I don't know... I love these characters. This movie felt like the abbreviated version of the story. I'm sure anyone who has never seen the original (or hasn't seen it in a long time) would really enjoy this. This movie will most likely be nominated for a bunch of awards. The Spielberg 80's production was nominated for 11 Academy Awards & woefully won none. The movie was robbed that year and should have won at least one. Whoopi Goldberg's (she should have won), Oprah's, & Danny Glover's performances are a hard act to follow but those that filled their shoes did a wonderful job.

The best way for me to describe the story was to compare it to episodic tv where a problem arose & was quickly solved within the 30 minute episode. Granted, the movie is much longer but there were a lot of problems. It seriously felt rushed. It lacks heart. I ball my eyes out at the end of Spielberg's version, but not this one.

Danielle Brooks is someone to keep your eye on (loved her in Orange is the New Black as Tastee). I will be rooting for her!

So, that's how I felt. If anything, the movie made me want to read Alice Walker's book even more. It's good & I will recommend it to people who I think the original may be a bit too much for them to handle, but I really will push the original film to get a better dramatic tellling of The Color Purple.

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 Color Purple novel is one of the greatest pieces of American literature. The film adaptation a masterpiece worth of a 10/10.

What is presented in this iteration of the novel and the film, a musical version has to be one of the worst musicals to ever be adapted to film.

There original film has musical numbers that are magical and memorable. That elevate the story and bring a soul and substance. This musical version has no memorable moments. The strongest being 'Hell, No" which unfortunately lands flats. Fantasia's 'I'm Here' is another powerful track but gets lost in the mix of what are essential filler tracks that have been through the Disneyfication machine. The musician H. E. R. Barely gets to offer her incredible voice to the ensemble.

The story plods along at times incoherently. The rawness of the novel, left out presumably to making it 'family friendly' which is a major mistake. The rawness of this story, or this novel, of these iconic and remarkable characters is the foundation of the entire point of why the colour of Purple is so important as an analogy of God and His Grace.

Each actor shines, but the direction is so lost these incredible actors moments get lost with them. It's hard not to keep one's memory from harking back to the powerful performances from the original film. Nothing can erase the majesty of that film.

A very disappointing outcome that just leads to the conclusion that this musical project just doesn't work.

Danielle Brooks truly stole the show as Sofia in the film, shining like a star. Her talent and beauty are simply awe-inspiring. Whenever she graced the screen, a smile would automatically appear on my face, and I couldn't help but feel a slight blush. Her performance was filled with sensitivity and power, making her the perfect fit for the role. I have no doubt that she will have a long and illustrious career, deserving of celebration.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my Christmas morning than being immersed in the timeless charm of this classic film's stunning visuals and captivating sound. I'm absolutely thrilled to keep playing the soundtrack on repeat!

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.