FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Color Purple
MPA Rating: PG-13
Director: Blitz Bazawule
Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks
Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins

What It Is: Young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) is given to Mister (Colman Domingo) to be his wife by Celie’s own father. This was in order to prevent him from trying to marry Celie’s sister Nettie (Halle Bailey), who was obviously their fathers favorite. The life that Celie lives is one more akin to a slave moreso than a wife. Now she’s away from her only family with a man that abuses her. Now grown Celie (Barrino) wants nothing more than to be free of Mister. As time goes on the tides of Celie’s life begin to change. A positive wind may be on the horizon for this woman of unbreakable spirit.

What We Think: Blitz is an apropos name for a film director who can deliver the flash in the way Blitz Balawule does. That is perhaps the biggest positive that this film brings to the table. It’s super flashy and gorgeous to look at. It’s musical set pieces are wonderfully put together it’s the movie part of this that sort of gets lost. Characters fade in and out and the concept of time passing is too cavalier. There were sections of this film in which I had no idea why things were occurring. Characters aren’t expressly explained but through slight hints as to who they are. Overall this adaptation really fails the audience there. The editing being an absolute mess doesn’t help. The editing is so bad I’m surprised the Academy didn’t nominate it. The acting and singing is where this film earns all of its good graces. Fantasia Barrino is absolutely amazing. She stuns with every song and in their turns the rest of the cast pull their weight.

Our Grade: C+, Man. I wanted so badly for this to be as excellent as Spielberg’s non-musical. It just isn’t. It pulls at the heart but never breaks you fully. It’s nicely acted but the music adds nothing as a tool to build the emotions. This is often the opposite. Blitz’s style over substance here, while it’ll draw people in, will confuse most of the movie going public. This critic included. This film is still playing in theaters so maybe go check it out if you adore the broad way adaptation. Otherwise you probably won’t find much, if anything for yourself.