The Color Purple

I'll start by saying that several performances were REALLY good, particularly Shug and Sophia (hello, Oscar?). But the movie felt flat. I know this is a different version (from the Broadway show) and definitely not a remake of the Steven Spielberg film. And while the music was good, I found it distracting, inserted into the story rather than advancing the story like a musical should. The characters felt undeveloped and ultimately unresolved. We saw some of the brutality of Mister but not his cruelty. We saw kindness of Celie but not her true goodness. And finally the choreography. It was good, if this had been on stage. In the movie, the action of the story stops so the action of the dancing can begin. So it called attention to itself instead of, again, advancing the story without our noticing.

It's not a bad movie. It's just not really good.

It's a decent new adaptation of The Color Purple with gorgeous production designs, solid direction and good performances from the cast members. Director Blitz Bazawule does a solid work on handling the tone and setting alongside with the production sets, costumes, and camerawork being really colorful and beautiful. The musical singing moments, while some of the musical tracks weren't great, were solid with some pretty good lyrics and musical tones explored. Many of the performances were pretty good as there wasn't a single poor performance.

Since I have read the book and seen the first adaptation from Steven Spielberg which I really liked, I felt the emotional core and writing isn't as strong as it could be as there were some elements that felt thin and could have been explored a bit more. Since this is based on the broadway version, I haven't seen the broadway version so that might explain the disconnection. There were some pacing issues and some of the dialogue moments were a little odd. Overall, it's a decent adaptation but I prefer to watch Steven Spielberg's version.

This is a musical adaptation of the stage musical based on the book. After the 1985 classic film, the hurdle gets to be quite high. It is also part of the recent trend of surprise musicals. They are not pushing the fact that these are musicals and the less informed audience members are getting surprised. This has great actors doing all the skills. It is technically great. It looks great. The performers are working at top notch level. It is very choreographed stage musical and that may be the problem.

I am still unsettled on this idea. The subject matter is so dark that the musical genre takes away some of the needed grittiness. It's not only a musical. It's the old timey choreographed energetic dancing type. It is showy Broadway and that overwhelms the dark complex story. Yet others do it well, but I would suggest that they always do it better on the live stage. There is an artificiality to the production when it's on the screen. It can't help but feel fake.

The Color Purple novel is one of the greatest pieces of American literature. The film adaptation a masterpiece worth of a 10/10.

What is presented in this iteration of the novel and the film, a musical version has to be one of the worst musicals to ever be adapted to film.

There original film has musical numbers that are magical and memorable. That elevate the story and bring a soul and substance. This musical version has no memorable moments. The strongest being 'Hell, No" which unfortunately lands flats. Fantasia's 'I'm Here' is another powerful track but gets lost in the mix of what are essential filler tracks that have been through the Disneyfication machine. The musician H. E. R. Barely gets to offer her incredible voice to the ensemble.

The story plods along at times incoherently. The rawness of the novel, left out presumably to making it 'family friendly' which is a major mistake. The rawness of this story, or this novel, of these iconic and remarkable characters is the foundation of the entire point of why the colour of Purple is so important as an analogy of God and His Grace.

Each actor shines, but the direction is so lost these incredible actors moments get lost with them. It's hard not to keep one's memory from harking back to the powerful performances from the original film. Nothing can erase the majesty of that film.

A very disappointing outcome that just leads to the conclusion that this musical project just doesn't work.

Danielle Brooks truly stole the show as Sofia in the film, shining like a star. Her talent and beauty are simply awe-inspiring. Whenever she graced the screen, a smile would automatically appear on my face, and I couldn't help but feel a slight blush. Her performance was filled with sensitivity and power, making her the perfect fit for the role. I have no doubt that she will have a long and illustrious career, deserving of celebration.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my Christmas morning than being immersed in the timeless charm of this classic film's stunning visuals and captivating sound. I'm absolutely thrilled to keep playing the soundtrack on repeat!