The Color Purple (2023)

There are things I really enjoyed and things I didn't enjoy about Bazawule's adaptation of the stage musical adaptation of the 80s film adaptation of the Alice Walker novel. And that's kinda where things start for me. The 2023 film The Color Purple feels like it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that and I'm not sure it ever came together for me in a way that felt like one unified piece. There are moments that feel cinematic and moments that feel like they'd work better on the stage. There are moments that felt like the story was coming alive and other times when the film seemed to just jump from one plot point to another without feeling connected. The Color Purple is a mixed bag for me.

The powerful story of Walker's novel is a rich and layered and perhaps part of the challenge is fitting all that into one film. Things are going to get short shrift like Sofia's arc which felt truncated so we never felt the glory of her coming back to life at the story's fateful dinner table. In fact that scene is one that felt off altogether. The film never builds up a believable narrative for Miss Celie finding her strength to leave Mister so when it's just announced (and suddenly Mary Agnes is leaving too??) it didn't create the sense of liberation that it does in the previous film or the novel. This moment is a centrepiece for the story and it sort of feels fumbled. As does any attempt the film makes to redeem Mister who gets reintegrated into the community rather quickly and in a way that doesn't necessarily feel great. the film jettisons some of what the stage musical does here and I'm not sure we're better off for it.  

But the film does capture somethings really well. Henson's Shug is a vision every time she's on the screen and I'm so glad they gave her Miss Celie's Blues to sing (despite not being a part of the stage musical). It's such a great song and its performance here is quite moving although moved to a different part of the story than the Spielberg film. Still I didn't find many of the musical's songs, nor the originals written for this production, to be nearly as memorable so by including it the film sort of highlights the weaknesses of the others. 

One issue all adaptations have is how they struggle to represent the lesbian aspects of the story and this film does some things better than previous adaptations while also still letting this get sidelined a bit. I really did enjoy how the film highlights Celie's number I'm Here from the musical centring her self-love as the true holy grail but why are we all so afraid to see Celie love another woman who isn't her sister? 

So while I wouldn't tell you not to see The Color Purple if it's a film that interests you, if you are a fan of any of the previous takes on the story, or if you just want to go see the movie, I would just say that it wasn't the stand out I had hoped it might be. Still it is a lovely film to watch and I imagine will likely bring out a tear or two in you before it's over. 

The Color Purple 

Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier

Director: Blitz Bazawule

Writer: Marcus Gardley