The Color Purple (1985)

The Color Purple (1985)

Starring: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, and Oprah Winfrey

Plot: Celie is an African American girl in the early 20th century, and has had two children by the age of 14.  When she is married off to a much older man after she has her second child, she must spend most of her life in an abusive and threatening world, and separated from her beloved sister.  But along the way, she meets many friends, including the feisty Sofia and the lovely Shug Avery.  With the help of her friends, she will try to survive in a harsh world of racism and patriarchy. 

Good: One of the things that stands out in this film is the fact that it shines a light on a part of history that isn't focused on today, which is the gender roles within the African American culture in the early 20th century.  If you were a black woman around this time, you were considered to be the lowest class a human could be.  The struggle of these women is portrayed excellently by Whoopi Goldberg in her first role on screen.  She does a great job showing a wide range of emotions without many lines.  Many of the other actors do a great job as well, including Danny Glover as Albert and Margret Avery as Shug.  But the performance that I was most surprised by was Oprah Winfrey as Sofia.  Usually the celebrity cast member is the weakest link in the cast, but Winfrey does a superb job at portraying this strong woman who is broken by society, and she disappears in the role, especially during the dinner scene.  The production design is  very good, and you really feel like you're looking at what life was like in the early 20th century.  The music was done by Quincy Jones, and he does a good job at portraying the emotions of the scenes.

Bad: While many of the performances are good, there are some that can be pretty cringe worthy.  The actors who play Celie's children and step father feel very wooden in their line deliveries.  The worst performance in my opinion is done by the actress who played young Celie.  She is so dry and boring to listen to, that she makes the first 30 minutes of the film drag on, and the film only picks up when Whoopi replaces her.  The movie also feels way too long at points, and comes to a slow crawl near the end.  Some of the humor, while it can be funny, also feels out of place at times, and can give the viewers emotional whiplash.  For example, just after a very tense scene with Celie contemplating murdering her husband, Albert, we get a comedic scene with Albert looking for his clothes to wear for Shug Avery.

Trivia:

• This was Whoopi Goldberg's and Oprah Winfrey's first feature film.
• Tina Turner was initially chosen to play Shug Avery, but she turned it down.
•  This was Spielberg's first "serious" film, and it put him on the path to making movies like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.
• Oprah Winfrey ad-libbed her speech at the dinner table at Spielberg's request.

Final Verdict: To me, this film is a mixed bag.  It has some amazing acting, and some not-so-great acting.  Some of the scenes will captivate you, while others will have you checking your watch.  I would recommend this film to people who find the subject matter interesting, or if you're just a die hard Spielberg fan.

Next time, we'll go to Japan during WWII, and see if Spielberg has learned his lesson about racism since 1941, with Empire of the Sun.

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