Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Color Purple (2023) 

This film blew me away! I never thought a musical retelling of the Color Purple would happen or even work but after watching the first fifteen minutes it works perfectly for the story. Now this film truly is something special that feels like an experience you’ll want to feel more then once as it gives inspiring hope in a story that is very dark and grim but still finds a way to let the light in at the most saddest moments. The Color Purple is among one of the best of the year that will have you crying while smiling all at once. 

Firstly, This film again I cannot stress enough how much it’s perfect as a musical! The film opens with a fantastic musical number and never lets up. It’s ability to fully immerse you into its environment the moment it starts. The film has a ton of music but if you look at the story a certain way you can see how perfect it is as a musically driven story. The film feels like an old fashioned musical in the way Sound Of Music, West Side Story was and this film feels very much in the same vein of those old school Hollywood epics. The film deals with themes of Abuse, love, sexuality, spirituality and loss. All of those themes are done in A incredibly raw and blunt approach for example when you see the abuse taking place theirs no subtle way about it as its ugly, violent and horrible theirs no way to sugarcoat it. Then for the sexuality the film is able to show that Celie questions her sexuality and in a time when being bisexual or gay was massively frowned upon the films ability to showcase she was curious about more then just men was shown in a tasteful and respectful way without it feeling raunchy. Then for the love part that is very much the beating heart of the whole film love is what sets her free really. When she is trapped by her abusive husband it’s the love and hope she has for her sister that keeps her from becoming someone that accepts their fate and stops trying. She holds onto love in her heart and mind to keep her going throughout the day and theirs so many people that walk into her life that tell her to hold onto that feeling. The film then ends it off with faith which is keeping the faith things will get better and the film is able to explore all these messages in such a fantastic way that keeps your eyes glued to the screen the entire time. The tone and style is fantastic the set pieces for the songs themselves are characters within themselves being an extension of their feelings. It’s a sweeping epic that has a large canvas but is so intimate with its lessons to tell the audience. 

Secondly, The performances in the film are all truly outstanding! first off their is Fantasia Barrino makes a debut performance that is honestly chilling for how good she is the film. She is put front and centre playing the most important role of the film she’s trapped from an abusive man and spends her life unfortunately servicing his needs while holding onto hope she can find a way out of their. Its a performance that will shatter your heart but also fill it with so much hope for her and Fantasia does a phenomenal job delivering a fierce portrayal of this person that holds onto hope with every fibre of her being. Then you have Danielle  Brooks who is a take no prisoners attitude character even though she’s a person of Color and a female back in a Time when speaking your mind could get you in trouble she has no care in the world for that stereotype. She will not let any person box her into a corner and she brings such much needed courage to the screen that is impossible to look away from in a tremendous supporting turn. Than theirs Taraji P. Henson who gives a firecracker of a performance that is both spunky and full of such dripping charisma that grabs your attention the moment she comes onscreen she lights the scenes on fire when she appears. She plays this bigger than life character that refuses to be held to any man and just be her own person that passes through town on her own time she’s electrifying. Then lastly theirs Colman Domingo who plays a terrifying man who is nasty and terrible to his wife and charms his way into peoples hearts but once he has them will strip them of everything their wroth and use and abuse them. Domingo brings that terrifying presence to the screen with such a strong amount of emotion that will have you chilled to the bone. Overall everyone all gave terrific performances from each actor involved in this film.

Lastly, The Color Purple is one of the best films of the year that perfectly captures the roots of the original film while building upon in from a fresh perspective as a musical. It’s full of hope, love and such positive energy that will have you sobbing in joy in the theatre. The film goes through the darkest and grimmest places of hell but also celebrates the joy of being alive and you can’t help but want to stand up and cheer for the characters and even through the most depressing aspects of their lives their spirits don’t break. This musically driven version of this story is amazingly well brought to the screen and is a phenomenal from the narrative, the music the performances its an incredible piece of film overall the Color Purple is truly breathtaking! 

This film is about a woman who is forced to live with a man and is taken away from her sister at a young age and fights to hold onto hope and love

Rated PG - 13 : Violence|Language|Sexual Content|Mature Thematic Content

Fanatasia Barrino : Barrino delivers a harrowing performance that will touch your soul! This actress has very limited if not none prior acting work she’s known for her singing but that’s kind of it. The fact she plays the central role in a Steven Spielberg produced film where she is the lead is a massive accomplishment. She takes on the role of Celie perfectly as in the beginning she’s very pure and thinks everyone if given the opportunity  are fantastic beings. But at the same time she’s been a bit weary but for the most part very forgiving. When she encounters mister who seems very slick and kind and is sadly forced into marriage with him at an extremely young age she sees who he really is and what unfortunate situation she finds herself in. She sees her voice around the house is extremely limited and if out of line will see herself getting beaten within a inch of her life so for quite sometime she does her best to keep her head low and make sure her husband is happy and that she causes no problems. When people like Shuge and Sofia walk into her life like a hurricane of fresh air she needed them at the right moment to help lift herself up and know shes worth a damn. Fantasia delivers a performance that is of a battered woman but who still hopes despite her run of bad luck and you can see the lifeless eyes she has at the times she is at her lowest but once she sees even small glimpses of hope she has that spark back in her eyes and Fantasia is able to channel such amazing amounts of emotion into her body that just leaps off the screen. She not only steals the whole damn film in terms of performance but she also has an amazing singing voice that also expresses the hurt and suffering she has gone through in the mimers she does sing and each lyric she sings comes from deep in her soul. Barrino is a revelation and delivers a special performance of a woman that may of been silenced but refuses to give up on love and even when you see her grow older her attitude towards men has shifted entirely due to her traumatic experience around them and she mostly only trusts the woman in her life and I wouldn’t blame her. If this was her big breakout performance to show people she’s a great actor she did a hell of a job and I cannot wait to see the amazing success that is ahead of her due to the great positive reviews she has been getting from her work on this film. Rightly so though as she is incredible and is the pulsing heart of the film and Barrino dose not over dramatize her performance everything about it seemed genuine and from her heart its a great portrayal of the character that will make you cry and ache for her while also hoping she gets out of this terrible situation she is currently in. Barrino is a hurricane of brilliance that sweeps you up in each scene she’s in with great emotional power and grit what a terrific performance by Fantasia. 

Danielle Brooks : Brooks is a powerhouse that soaks up each scene she’s in! Now Danielle isn’t in the film an awful lot but when she is onscreen wow is she a force to be reckoned with. What’s so great about her is she also played this character on the broadway version of the story she knows the character inside and out already. So when we are introduced to her she is already showing the world she refuses to go quietly and won’t be pushed around. She is the voice for the voiceless and she knows damn well it can land her in trouble but does it anyway. Its not that she is carless is she has zero cares for what other people think of her and in a way that is very liberating to be so aware of that about yourself. She sings a song called Hell no that perfectly represents what she stands for but at the same time the lip she uses to tell others off does at one point land her in jail. Even when she is behind bars the people she influenced with her message go to visit her so she did make a difference in peoples lives its the people who go to see her that matters to her as it shows her that she still matters to others and even if she is left in that cell for week even years she won’t be broken because she knows their are people that still care about her after all this time that has passed. Their is a great moment in the last act of the film where she is at a dinner table and starts laughing and that laugh turns into a cry it perfectly captures how she had been feeling the last few years but never gave herself the time to actually feel. Brooks is astonishing and brings a fiery spirit to the film that is much needed and she is hilarious, dramatic, devastating and just brings peoples spirits up the moment she comes onscreen. She may not be onscreen for a ton but once she is you can’t look anywhere else. Danielle Brooks is astonishing and delivers an amazing supporting turn that is a scene stealing performance you’ll fall in love with in minutes. 

Taraji P. Henson : Henson gives a flirtatious and sexy performance that is dangerously surprising!  Now Taraji is very much like Brooks not in it a ton but when onscreen leaves one hell of an impression on the audience. She plays this really amazing popular singer everyone from far and near know and when she walks into a room everyone stops talking. She is the voice that Fantasia’s character really relies on most as she can see that Celie in trouble and needs to Get out without having to even tell her she can see in her exhausted eyes that she’s been strong for far to long and could use the help. She even grows to become so close with this singer that they become romantically involved its hard to pin down where she fits as she dose not belong to any group or category she’s her own person. Taraji is truly majestic giving some truly seductive eyes but also can wear her heart on her sleeve and be in her feels within a moments notice if the scene calls for it she is a woman of many layers and is has such a complexity to her It gives Henson free reign to explore this character to no end. She uses her popularity to yes draw attention to herself but to a point get away with stuff because she is so known for being this grand singer so she can get away with in ways most woman in town can’t due to her being so known if she just left people would notice on top of her having a entourage of  people that walk around with her Taraji rules the screen with a fist of charisma and passion that is felt in each scene she’s involved in. She lifts up Celie when she most needs it and helps her also explore her sexuality she was insecure about for years she is a massive supporter for her and does a great job at brining much needed light to the darkness and Henson shines in this supporting performance that is both sexy and dramatically heavy all at once and executes it with such flare she is amazing and I cannot say enough good things it is I think the best work she’s ever done even better then her work in hidden figures which I thought was amazing. Henson is truly giving something special onscreen here. 

Colman Domingo : Colman gives a twisted performance that is both revolting and oddly charming! This man is a total slime ball and their is nothing redeeming of what he does but you can’t look away from his performance because of how well Colman brings this twisted individual to life. This man he plays is called mister and he seems at first glance like this charming womanizer which he is in many ways but he lets others on to think he wouldn’t harm a fly when he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The moment he has any woman In his grasp he takes advantage of them and that goes for anything. If its sexual abuse, psychical or mental he does all of that to try to break down their spirits and you start to ask yourself what is he gaining from doing this to them what is the point of it. He just thinks by asserting his male dominance that the respect him and or by striking the fear of hell in them the won’t talk back which is such a Terrible way of going about his relationships as he starts seeing that they start crumbling around him and even when Henson’s character he can’t even take her because she sees what he is capable of due to how he handles his wife so she won’t fall victim to his tricks and he hates that she’s smarter then him. He is so insecure and is hungry for attention so when he no longer gets it he resorts to drinking his feelings away and begging for sympathy because he thinks if he asks for forgiveness it’ll erase all the pain it caused which it dose not but if he starts by turning his life around it might work. Domingo plays this very shady and complicated personality to a terrifyingly perfect degree he is amazing as the character but he scared the hell out of me whenever he came into a scene. He will intimate others with his psychical presence but nothing was more terrifying then what he could say with his words that cut like a knife right their her heart as he would keep bashing her head in with verbal abuse non stop and some part of yourself thinks he enjoys inflicting pain on her which is horrible but it seems that way. Domingo delivers a terrifyingly captivating performance that is dark and evil but you can’t look away from the stunning work he’s putting to the screen Domingo gives a stellar supporting turn. 

Blitz Bazawule : Blitz delivers amazing direction for only his second directed film! Now this man has only done one film before taking on such a beloved classic like The Color Purple which is no easy feat to accomplish. Not only was he retelling a classic tale like this that people have read from the book or the Spielberg directed film even the musical that was shown to audiences many years ago. So there was an expectation to make this really damn good. And he did not disappoint he gives a version of this story that yes people have seen that is the same narrative but the way in which its told is so bold fresh and unique it may even be better then its previous film version. He brings music which is the special ingredient that this story needed. It’s able to incorporate the music into the story that elevates the material and fits the characters emotions perfectly really making the story leap off the screen in ways that no one thought was possible. He brings an old style musical look to the frame that just woks for this film that makes you smile in glee that will remind you of musicals of old like West Side Story and Chicago. While also dealing with the deep themes that have been rooted in this book for years like abuse, love sexuality all of that is still here and if anything he’s able to go places with that material that some other exactions of this narrative hasn’t been able to do in the past. He really makes men in this story seem not at all redeemable which is fine its a film for the woman that need to be lifted up and it works very well he also gets great performances out of his entire cast while giving a experience that will move you to tears and also have you smiling. The message is uplifting and sure the material is dark but he explores the depths of the hell these woman go through but also how strong wielded they are which is incredibly important and Blitz brings the Color of purple to screen in an amazing adaptation that is non stop energy that feels so fresh and natural you will fall in love with it within the first minute it starts and want to see it again and again and you only get that kind of reaction if your film gets a strong reaction from people which he did with his work on this film. His direction was amazing and I honesty cannot wait to see what he does next as her impressed the hell out of me with his directional style on The Color Purple he did a truly magnificent job.