When I was a kid around eleven or so I was able to see The Color Purple by director Steven Speilberg based on the book by Alice Walker. It was a very powerful experience for a kid that age. When I heard it was going to be turned into a Broadway musical I was skeptical.  Now that successful musical has been turned into a movie. It has gone full circle.

Cealy (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, Fantasia Barrino) and her sister Nettie (Hailie Bailey, Ciara) are as close as they can be; they sing songs and hang out together when they’re not working for their father. A local sharecropper Albert “Mister” Johnson (Colman Domingo) is sweet on Nettie. He goes to ask her father for her hand in marriage but he says she’s smart and is going to be a teacher, but he offers her sister instead. He says she’s ugly and her father says she cooks and cleans and will be a good homemaker. Reluctantly he accepts and Cealy and he go back to his home which is in terrible condition. She becomes more than just a wife. She is more like a slave to him than a wife. 

Blitz Bazawule takes some creative license with the narrative but the script by Marcus Gardrey is one of the strengths of the film. It weaves together multiple storylines that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Subplots about Nettie in Africa, Shug Avery (Taraji P Hinson) a singer and the daughter of a local preacher, and Harpo (Corey Harkins) and his wife Sofia (Danielle Brooks) who is the son of “Mister” Their relationship has some interesting ups and downs. Sofia is quite the firecracker.

With this film being based on a musical, it has to have good songs that fit into the narrative but are also catchy and meaningful regarding the arts of the characters. She Be Mine, Working, Shug Avery, The Color Purple and I’m Here are all exceptional songs. They complement the story and script perfectly.  The musical numbers as a whole are all incredible. The choreography is so good in the singing and dancing numbers. It’s just so good all the way around in this regard.

One of the best parts of the film is its cinematography and camera work. There are many stacking scenes as well as over-the-top Crain shots that give this film a phenomenal look. Add in the use of various lighting techniques by Dan Lousten and this is one of the best looking movies I’ve seen all year. That includes Lousten’s other film he was DP on, John Wick 4. He has a knack for using various kinds of light to accentuate various scenes. In John Wick 4 it was colorful lighting while here it was a lot of natural lighting such as the sun and the moon. The daytime scenes looked crisp, clear, and very colorful. This is the work of a master at his best.

In the original film, there was an undercurrent of abuse, racism, and violence. With this version of the story, Bazawule chose to do some violence in the form of slapping faces. These were very powerful moments in the movie. One scene where someone gets arrested and put into jail for six years proved a point of who was truly in charge in the South.  It wasn’t Black people. Even though within their little world there were power-hungry men who used what little authority they had as a way to feel good about themselves. They weren’t that well off or doing well mentally. That is why they used violence as a crutch.

Besides the cinematography and the script, the other strength of this film is its acting. There are multiple Awards Worthy performances from this cast including Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P Hinson,  Colman Domingo, and others. The best of the bunch is Danielle Brooks as Sofia though. She has a feisty nature to her and no man is going to boss her around.  Colman and Harkins characters are at odds with her throughout the movie but she finally gets a comeuppance she should have seen coming. She is funny and Whitey and had the audience I was sitting with in stitches. Aside from Da’vine Joy Randolph, I’d say she would be the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress at next year’s Oscars.

The Color Purple deals with many themes but in the end, what it’s really about is family. I have had my own issues with family members over the years so I understand they don’t always get along. This film was set starting a hundred years ago so times were different then. People did things differently than now but the age-old mantra is true family is family. In the end, they are your blood and you need to keep them close. Through ups and downs, they will get over problems and embrace their own. This movie doubled down on that mantra.

The Color Purple is based on flowers in a field but the film itself is a masterpiece from so many perspectives. The acting is exceptional, the singing/dancing and choreography are the meat and potatoes of the story while some of the technical aspects are exceptional. Dan Lousten should definitely garner some awards love as well as Danielle Brooks in Supporting Actress. This movie is going to be a huge hit this Christmas season.  Litz Bazawule better get used to awards season because he’s going to be a very busy man. This is one of the best films of the year bar none.

5 stars 

Dan Skip Allen