There’s a lot to like about this “Color Purple,” which is more inspired by the musical than a straight adaptation of it. Some songs from the show have disappeared; others have been added, and “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister),” from the 1985 film, even shows up. Marcus Gardley’s screenplay in some ways hews closer to the book — specifically in the romance between Shug and Celie, which is far from explicit but is obviously intimate. That’s an important layer in Celie’s life. If “The Color Purple” is a story about an abused Black woman learning her worth in the company of other women, then Celie’s relationship with Shug, which shows her what it means to feel pleasure and safety, is a key component in her evolution.
Even better, for the first two hours, it’s absorbing: big song-and-dance numbers and emotional set pieces, dynamic performances from everyone, and a feeling of reverence for the story and what it’s meant for 40 years give it gravitas and heart. I found myself wishing (as I often do with contemporary movie-musicals) that the editing would slow down and let me actually watch the dancers. But on the whole, I was gripped.
Yet by the end it’s clear that the story remains slippery to would-be adapters. This iteration encounters the same issue that Spielberg’s version did: to really tell Celie’s story, you have to allow space for some unutterable atrocities that give heft to her later development into a woman of determination and courage. And in an average movie running time, characters tend to get flattened down to caricatures; while this adaptation at least gives the men a little more humanity than previous versions, they still come off as basically soulless monsters. Hollywood movies are ill-suited to this kind of material, and the whole thing inevitably suffers as a result.
I assume that’s what happened in the last half-hour or so, when Celie’s story suddenly rushes headlong to an end. It’s a happy end, but one that feels mismatched rhythmically with the rest of the film. Sudden changes of heart seem unmotivated, which drains the final scene of its power.
It’s too bad, and I hope some future adaptation of Walker’s novel gets Celie’s expansive humanity right. There’s so much fertile ground left to explore. It’s a tale of horror, but also of heroism — a Black woman who finds freedom in the company of other Black women, and then, with incredible bravery, extends that freedom onward.
The Color Purple
Rated PG-13 for incest, rape, racism and abuse. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes. In theaters.
