With many critics speaking out against Hollywood producing remakes and organizations like NAACP wanting Hollywood to stop producing Black trauma porn, the initial announcement of the 2023 adaptation of “The Color Purple” was met with mixed reviews.
Building on the legacy of Alice Walker’s book and the previous 1985 film adaptation and incorporating elements of the stage musical, the 2023 adaptation of “The Color Purple” is a refreshing testament to healing generational trauma.
“There’s not a person on this film who doesn’t realize it’s bigger than all of us,” said Producer Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film, on the cast featuring top talents like Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo, H.E.R and Danielle Brooks.
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With vibrant colors displayed against dark themes, top musical performances and comedic timing to relieve audiences from darker scenes, this critic gives “The Color Purple” a four out of five-star rating.
The Color Purple
The movie follows its protagonist, Celie, and her life from young adulthood to womanhood.
Her father, who the audience later learns is her stepfather, impregnates her twice and sells her babies. She daydreams of the smallest joys in life while working in her family’s shop.
Celie’s only happiness comes from her younger sister Nettie, who, although younger, has become more educated than Celie through her love of books.
Following the same plot as the original film, Celie’s father sells her off to a man named Mister, trading her for one cow and a couple of eggs. During their marriage, Celie raises Mister’s children and endures physical and sexual violence from him.
When Nettie visits Celie to confess that their Pa tried to touch her, they ask Mister if she can stay.
Mister tries to rape Nettie, who does not give in to his advances, and shoots her off his property with the promise to kill her if she ever comes back.
The story then depicts Celie witnessing a series of women in her life show strength against the grain of misogyny’s oppression.
What makes this film different from the 1985 adaptation is the context it gives to characters’ back stories. Audiences have a clearer view of the continuation of trauma endured by generations.
Addressing generational trauma
Mister’s father, Old Mister Johnson, is the OG abuser who rules as a patriarchal figure. His main role is to remind the men in the family that women are beneath them.
Mister’s son, Harpo, struggles with breaking the generational trauma of abuse his father and grandfather have perpetuated.
When he cannot seem to control Sofia, his head-strong love interest, played by Danielle Brooks, he takes Celie’s advice to try to beat her.
Famous references and sayings from the 1985 film offer peak comedic relief throughout the film.
Shug’s famous line of “You sho’ is ugly!” from the 1985 film is not said, but a look of disgust delivered at the right time by Taraji P. Henson, the actor playing Shug, leaves audiences familiar with the line laughing.
Despite its depiction of Black communal trauma, the film overall is a reminder of how white supremacy’s oppression is worse than anything the community can do to itself.
Rating: 4 out of 5
The film’s cinematography is on point; the colors, makeup, wardrobe and even textures of the actors’ hairstyles are gorgeous.
Taraji P. Henson as Shug is amazing.
The complex relationships between the women in this film offer an interesting exploration, conveying that they are navigating their emotions and feelings with and without the male gaze or validation.
The almost three-hour movie only loses steam toward the end because the film is almost at a breakthrough that the musical numbers unnecessarily delay.
The film earns four out of five stars because although it offers a new spin by showing everyone healing from their trauma, not just Celie, this critic wishes there was accountability for the abuse that occurs and the perpetrators of it.
Audiences watch Celie rise above her trauma, heal and remain forgiving to those who wronged her; then, those who were healed by her healing, miraculously become nicer and make peace with betrayals and hurt from before.
Watching women love on each other, inspire each other and support one another other was great. Even watching men change their hearts is a hope that many hold for the Black community.
The ending number at the Sunday picnic may leave you in tears, and when it is all said and done, therapy may not sound bad at all.
“The Color Purple” makes one feel as if they can heal their inner child and that it is never too late to heal from trauma.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at (317) 762-7853 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
