‘The Color Purple’ review: Musical adaptation soars thanks to its drama
As toe-tapping and soul-stirring as it often is, the music of the musical film version of “The Color Purple” hitting theaters on Christmas Day isn’t the reason to see it.
See it because it’s “The Color Purple.”
Based on the stage musical that made its Broadway debut in 2005, the new movie is — like the acclaimed 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg — an adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award for Fiction-winning novel.
Walker’s narrative about the often heartbreaking struggles of a group of Black women living in the American South early in the 20th century remains so powerful, so engrossing, that you sometimes find yourself waiting for a number to end so you can get back to the drama.
That is meant not as a slight to work of the writers of the stage show’s music and lyrics — Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, who along with book writer Marsha Norman are counted among the film’s producers — but as praise of the direction of Blitz Bazawule, the screenwriting of Marcus Gardley and the captivating work of the talented cast.
Those performers include Taraji P. Henson (“Empire,” “Hustle & Flow”) and Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”), who reprise roles they inhabited on Broadway; former “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino; and Colman Domingo, who earned praise recently for his performance in the titular role of the film “Rustin.”
We first meet the younger version of the character portrayed by Barrino, Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpas in her feature film debut), and her sister, Nettie (“The Little Mermaid” star Halle Bailey), in 1909 Georgia. They happily sing a song before church, where they and their father, Alfonso (Deon Cole), sit among many other Black townsfolk.
Soon after that, however, that happiness is threatened when Alfonso promises Celie to Domingo’s Mister, who initially had his eye on Nettie and whom Nettie refers to as the “devil.”
“You can get to cleaning,” Mister informs Celie upon her arrival at his home. “Then fix supper.”
She quickly is introduced to an existence characterized by Mister’s anger and beatings.
As the years pass, we spend time with other memorable characters, including Mister’s now-grown son Harpo (Corey Hawkins), whose marriage to Brooks’ speaks-her-mind and stands-her-ground Sofia displeases Mister.
More important to the story is the return to town of popular singer Shug Avery (Henson), with whom Mister long has been smitten. With Shug in Mister’s home, he is in a better mood and thus kinder to Celie. However, it is the direct effect Shug has on the abused woman that is most crucial to Celie’s arc.
With Walker’s tale growing more emotionally charged as it progresses and the Ghanaian multimedia artist Bazawule — a Kent State University graduate whose credits include making 2018’s “The Burial of Kojo” and co-directing Beyonce’s “Black Is King” — delivering enthralling scene after enthralling scene, we can’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t have preferred a straight remake from him.
That said, there is a great deal of musical talent on the screen — also including Gabriella Wilson, aka musical artist “H.E.R.,” as Squeak, and the immensely gifted Jon Batiste, former bandleader and musical director of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” as Grady — and the performers deliver in myriad numbers and other musical moments.
Perhaps in part because she is making her movie debut, Barrino gives the standout performance as Celie, who was portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1985 version. Recently nominated for the Golden Globe Awards in the Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical category, Barrino wears the face of a woman who has seen a lifetime of pain, so when Celie actually experiences joy, it’s an uplifting experience for the viewer.
The stage show received an impressive 11 Tony Award nominations in 2006, parallelling the 11 Academy Award nominations earned by the Spielberg film. (The 2015 Broadway revival earned another four Tony nods, including Brooks scoring one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and won the award for Best Revival of a Musical.)
This cinematic version is beautiful in multiple ways, but its gorgeous visuals can be attributed in part to director of photography Dan Laustsen and production designer Paul Denham Austerberry, both of whom worked on director Guillermo del Toro’s 2017 Oscar-winning film, “The Shape of Water.”
Also serving as producers of the new film are Spielberg; Quincy Jones, the composer for the 1985 film; and, last but not least, Oprah Winfrey, who not only portrayed Sofia in the first film but who, upon the release of the book, championed it.
Winfrey says of the new film that it’s “not your mama’s ‘Color Purple,’ but your mama’s gonna love it, too.”
It’s hard to argue with that declaration.
‘The Color Purple’
Where: Theaters.
When: Dec. 25.
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and language.
Runtime: 2 hours, 21 minutes.
Stars (of four): 3.5.