Directed By Blitz Bazawule

Starring – Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks

The Plot – A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie (Barrino) faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and adult language.

The Color Purple | Official Trailer 3 – YouTube

POSITIVES

Remaking or reimagining a cultural phenomenon requires risk, and considering Bazawule, a musician turned director, takes over the helm for the mighty Spielberg, the decision to instead adapt the musical stage play of the same incarnation is certainly the more responsible take, especially with Bazawule being a master of transferring and combining the best benefits of the stage and screen accordingly, for one energetic undertaking. Beginning with illustrious pageantry in the presentation, this musical effortlessly garners the stage captivity of Broadway plays, with three-dimensional tangibility in set designs, unique flare of personality in complex lighting schemes, and of course a dazzling costume design set across forty years of storytelling. Because “The Color Purple” is such a tense and sorrowful story, Bazawule’s desire to play against type to these kind of tones comes with these uplifting instances that really grab ahold of the audience with energetic inspiration, and though most of the musical sequences persist within the realm of fantasy, it doesn’t make them any less intoxicating to realize with such vibrancy. To match the tonal consistencies accordingly, everything here feels bigger and brighter with the luster of the visuals, and while not every change goes accordingly with Blitz’s blossoming uniqueness, the spectacle can never be brought into question, especially considering this is only Bazawule’s third feature length presentation to date. In terms of what it does better than its predecessor, I also commend the trio of screenwriters for not exploiting black tragedy as a means of entertainment. This doesn’t necessarily make me on board for the movie’s musical direction, as I feel that direction crafts its own series of issues for the engagement, but omitting out the meandering melodrama of so much suffering does make this more appealing to a wider audience, all the while utilizing minority characters in the rare but prestigious feat of being inspiring and uplifting with their own bravery and unity. In terms of what it brings along from that original film, the script’s thematic impulses about strength, self-worth and refusing to let the past define who we are in the present, feels all the more synthetic in the depths and exploration of so many resilient female characters in a mostly uplifting narrative, working accordingly within the confines of elements of faith, but without feeling overly preachy for members of the audience like myself who might not be as involved with such. Likewise, the magnitude of this eclectic ensemble, between actresses from the stage show and new castings alike, do more than enough to fill the void left remarkably between the dynamic duo of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, who dominated the original version almost forty years ago. While Barrino, Brooks and Colman Domingo are the obvious stand-outs for commanding the most time in front of the screen, the extent of its brilliance lends itself to the entire supporting cast, without a single miscasting between them in their effortless slides into the characters. Barrino seamlessly sheds her heart and soul in both the vulnerabilities and ambitions of Celie, with an obviously thunderous vocal capacity to boot, and Danielle Brooks hijacks scenes with sincerity, as the iconic Sofia, who initially serves as the forceful opposition against female slavery, with her brand of caustic wit and imposition that consistently rocks the proverbial boat within these households. Much respect also goes to Domingo, who just last week I was raving about Oscar-worthy praise for his work in “Rustin”, and here showcases the other side of the moral boundaries, with a turn as Mister that captures all of the familiar seedy elements of the character, but with a humbling humanity to him that underlines many of his deceitful actions with a palpable air of regret that plagues his prominence.

NEGATIVES

Considering “The Color Purple” is marketed as a re-imagining in the spectacle sense, I wish that originality translated to the beats of the storytelling, which initially during the first two acts, remained a bit too stagnant by the clutches of the original, as it sifted through the same beats almost entirely. Because the third act of this movie spreads its wings into a climax that is both beautifully emotional and even poetic, they conventionalism within the script during the opening hour I felt shortchanged Celie’s arc in ways that periodically even made me forget about her character, forcing Barrino and her other two actresses playing the same character, to work overtime to remind us of her prominent status as the movie’s dominating protagonist. While the play keeps things equally contained in the depths of the original novel, I wish there was more originality taken in the expansion of this stage play adaptation, especially with the 86′ original film so fresh in my mind after watching it the previous night. In addition, the music numbers by majority just weren’t as versatile or as exciting as I would’ve preferred, especially in there being so many of them to the finished product. While I loved that Bazawule makes the most of the fantastically exaggerated approaches to how they’re presented in sequencing, as well as how they’re edited to transition the music back into the storytelling, the abundance of them intrude on dramatic scenes so forcefully that they underscore the magnitude of Celie’s narrative to self-value, in turn working all kinds of chaos to the movie’s voracious tonal shifts, which rarely, if ever, feel earned. Finally, at 135 minutes, this incarnation of the story sits fifteen minutes shorter than its predecessor but paced just as slow. Part of this reason could certainly be for the abundance of aforementioned musical numbers that find their way to the finished product, but I still feel like the third act, despite it being the best of the engagement, does feel too long-winded, with a couple of unnecessary scenes too many. There’s easily a way to tell the magnitude of this story in two hours, and for my money I would prefer it, especially since both films are paced so arduously in their respective paths.

OVERALL
“The Color Purple” does occasionally come out unblemished in its contrasts to the 1986 groundbreaking original film, but its refreshing differences in everything from uplifting tone to musical pageantry is what guarantees an existence of its own. While Bazawule takes his biggest step forward as a director in emulating the essences of the stage show, the decorated ensemble ultimately take the biggest bow of the engagement, articulating these strong, beautiful and resilient black women with a sense of responsibility that makes them better together than ever apart.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-