THE COLOR PURPLE ★★★
(M) 141 minutes
Alice Walker’s 1982 novel The Color Purple is a seminal text in Black American literature. Following a woman named Celie over four decades in 1900s rural Georgia, it explores the trauma inflicted upon Black women, and Celie’s journey towards self-determination and liberation after enduring unthinkable abuse and loss.
Fantasia Barrino stars as Celie in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple.
The novel has been adapted several times, firstly in 1985 directed by Steven Spielberg, and a Broadway musical in 2005. Those two approaches are blended in a new musical film adaptation, with Blitz Bazawule, who co-directed Beyoncé’s 2020 film Black is King, at the helm.
The story remains much the same: Celie is beaten and raped by her father growing up, bearing two of his children who are swiftly taken away from her. She’s then sold to another abusive man, Mister (Colman Domingo), but at least has the companionship of her sister Nettie (played in childhood by The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey), until Nettie is sent away and presumed dead.
As the years pass, Celie becomes infatuated with Mister’s mistress, Shug Avery (Taraji P Henson), who represents an escape. Celie’s daughter-in-law, the headstrong Sofia (Danielle Brooks), also has a thing or two to teach her about independence and self-respect.
Bazawule doesn’t shy away from depicting the brutal realities of violence: some of these scenes are difficult to watch, and American Idol alumnus Fantasia Barrino brings emotional heft to Celie as she endures it all. One climactic scene, in which Celie fantasises about murdering her abuser, is thick with the kind of tension that makes brilliant cinema.
Taraji P. Henson plays Shug Avery, a woman who is not prepared to take nonsense from any man.
Brooks’ multifaceted Sofia is a show-stealer: she’s raucous and, after landing in jail following a racist incident involving the mayor’s wife, a shell of herself. The story hinges on sisterhood and community, and Sofia’s character is an important part of Celie’s growth as well as a symbol of resilience.
The cinematography of the film is somewhat muddled. While beautiful and tinged with earthy gold, it sometimes feels like a perfectly choreographed music video, particularly during the musical numbers.
It’s the music that mostly lets this version of The Color Purple down. Combining existing songs from the Broadway production and new numbers written for the film, not all of it sticks the landing. Some transitions are clunky and most songs unmemorable.
But there are some inspired moments, such as She Be Mine, sung by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as young Celie after being forced to give her baby away, and Brooks’ defiant Hell No! The brightness of the music juxtaposed with the film’s more sombre themes can often feel jarring and tonally uneven, but also illustrates the facets of Celie’s life: terrible trauma with flickers of joy thanks to her friends and chosen family.
The denouement of the film is rushed as Celie comes into her power by opening a business and reclaiming her life. The threads come together too conveniently, and a neat redemption arc for Mister, after his horrific actions, is difficult to comprehend or swallow. Decades on, Walker’s story remains relevant and moving, but this version feels sanitised and saccharine.
The Color Purple is released in cinemas on January 25.
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