By Trudi-Rose Edwards
The Color Purple Review
★ ★ ★ ★
Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, The Color Purple has undergone its third major adaptation. There’s famous 1985 Steven Spielberg movie which starred Whoopi Goldberg in her breakout role and infamously failed to take home a single Oscar at the Academy Awards. Then in 2005 it was adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway musical with an original run that lasted until 2008. And now, a 2023 film adaptation of the musical has hit the screens.
It’s safe to say that this latest version of the beloved novel has a lot to live up to and it’s also safe to say that it does a pretty good job.
The Color Purple tells the story of Celie (played by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as a teenager and Fantasia Barrino of American Idol fame as an adult), an African American woman living in Georgia in the 1900s. Growing up with a violent father who abuses Celie and forces her to sell her infant children, her only solace is her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey). When her father auctions Celie off to Mister (Colman Domingo) to be his wife, Celie is transferred from one abusive and violent man to another. Her disappointment is exacerbated when Mister banishes Nettie from the household after she refuses his aggressive advances. The sisters lose contact and Celie is left to navigate the following disheartening decades alone; her only comfort is the hope that her beloved sister is somewhere safe and well and that she may one day see her children again. As the years pass Celie does find some solace in the friendships she makes – there’s Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) who offers a welcome escape from Mister’s abuse, and Sofia (Danielle Brooks who has earnt a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance) Celie’s determined and outspoken daughter-in-law.
The core strength of the film lies firmly in the performances. Both Mpasi and Barrino are making their film debuts here and yet both give the kind of performances expected of seasoned veterans. There’s a wonderful chemistry between Mpasi and Bailey which makes the sisters’ separation all the more heartbreaking.
Colman Domingo is disgustingly good as the violent and overall horrible Mister and is truly detestable, so much so that some of his lighter, played-for-laughs moments might leave even those with the best sense of humour po-faced.
Someone who does bring the laughs is Danielle Brooks’ Sofia. Her no-nonsense attitude is a breath of fresh air and she serves as a constant reminder of how Celie’s life could look if she was able to escape the clutches of her abuser. For all the laughter she provides, Sofia is one of the characters that brings about the most tears too (no spoilers!) – but it’s safe to say that Brooks’ Oscar nomination is well-deserved.
One of the few weaker elements of the film is the relationship between Celie and Shug Avery. The film hints at the pair’s sexual relationship but then leaves the plotline largely unexplored meaning the actresses’ chemistry is compromised. Taraji P. Henson is a wonderful actress but she can’t quite balance her performance on a fulcrum between flirtatious and maternal. As such, the two (two!) musical dream sequences involving the characters fall rather flat.
Which brings us to the music.
The film isn’t a straight adaptation of the Broadway show, more a flavouring of it, so fans of the musical ought to prepare themselves for a number of favourite songs being cut entirely. The musical numbers are well executed (it certainly doesn’t hurt that Fantasia Barrino is a show-stopping singer) and the cast as a whole does a good job with the tunes, however they are all – unfortunately – largely forgettable. You almost certainly won’t be humming any melodies as you leave the theatre.
Most disappointingly of all, the songs don’t add anything to the plot, serving as musical interludes rather than any kind of narrative tool, and are often shoe-horned in at seemingly inappropriate moments. In a film that doesn’t shy away from brutality, having Celie break into a jaunty number about how tough life is after watching her be violently abused doesn’t have the emotional impact intended and offers instead a dizzying amount of mood-whiplash. At best, the songs are moments of levity amongst Celie’s dispiriting story, at worst they’re a shameless and unwanted manipulation of the heartstrings, underestimating the audience’s capacity for empathy – we don’t need the swell of violins to know that a woman being beaten by her husband is horrific.
Musical gripes aside, there’s no denying this latest version of The Color Purple is a great film and a fresh retelling of Alice Walker’s beloved novel. The performances are spectacular and Celie’s story of hardship, endurance and sisterhood remains as captivating as ever.
The Color Purple is in UK cinemas from Jan 26, cert 12A