The Media Tourist

New adaptation of the Southern coming-of-age tale adds musical Broadway pizazz

The Color Purple
Starring Fantasia Berrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks & Colman Domingo
Directed by Blitz Bazawule
Rated PG-13

In theaters Dec. 25, 2023

A pull-out-the-stops reworking of the classic 1985 Steven Spielberg adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the new Color Purple is an extravagant, hybridized remake of the heart-wrenching coming-of-age drama with showtunes from the story’s later incarnation as a Tony-nominated musical, which ran on Broadway from 2005 to 2008 before touring internationally.

Stretching across nearly three decades, it follows Celie, a young Black woman growing up in Georgia in the early 1900s as her many hardships—poverty, rape, incest, and emotional and physical abuse—ultimately blossom into freedom, independence and a soaring reaffirmation of love and acceptance. And, oh yeah, a big slice of comeuppance. Color this karma purple, baby.

Meet the silver screen’s newest singing star: Fantasia Berrino, who won the 2004 season of American Idol, makes her movie debut as Celie, and, holy moly, what a knockout performance, and what a voice. But she’s hardly alone: She’s surrounded by an ensemble of other terrific talent and standout performances, including Taraji P. Henson, who oozes sensuality and sophistication as the feisty cabaret singer Shug Avery; Orange is the New Black’s Danielle Brooks is a mountain of sass, fire and fight as Sophia, a force-of-nature female who won’t bow to any man. Colman Domingo—who’s also making Oscar waves with his starring role in the Civil Rights biopic Rustin—is devilishly good at playing despicably bad as “Mister,” the hot-tempered, banjo-strumming farmer who begrudgingly takes Celie to become his wife—and his property.

There’s Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, also making her impressive movie debut young(er) Celie, and Haille Bailey (the singing star of The Little Mermaid) as the younger version of her sister, Nettie. Corey Hawkins, whose hit movies include Straight Outta Compton and BlacKkKlansman, is Mister’s son, the juke-joint entrepreneur Harpo. Veteran actor Louis Gossett Jr. plays “Old Mister,” Mister’s cantankerous father, and David Allan Grier is the local reverend, Shug’s long-estranged father.

Watch closely and you’ll see the cameo by Whoopi Goldberg, who marked her breakthrough in the original film. And behind the scenes, there’s the benevolent hand of Oprah Winfrey (who made her acting debut as Sophia in the 1985 movie) and Spielberg, now teaming together as CP ’23 producers, along with iconic music man Quincy Jones, who wrote the score for the first film.

The songs are essential parts of the reimagined story, expressing a gamut of feelings from woeful sadness and heartfelt yearning to soaring, rousing joy and buoyant jubilation. Trust me, you won’t be able to get “Hell No!,” “Push Da Button,” “Miss Celie’s Pants” or “I’m Here” out of your head. The expertly crafted musical numbers, from solo spotlights to streets full of singers and prancing dancers, sometimes make wildly colorful leaps of imagination, like the resplendent “What About Love,” which takes place on a massive retro movie-musical stage, and “Dear God/Shug,” which unfolds atop a gigantic spinning phonograph record.

The movie’s musical groove is dug deep, spread wide and held steady by director Blitz Bazawule, a Ghanaian filmmaker who’s also a rapper, singer-songwriter, poet and record producer. You probably haven’t heard of his previous film, The Burial of Kojo (nominated for a pair of Golden Globes). But he makes a strong impression here, with a firm grasp on the subject matter and the source material and the large cast.

The title comes from Shug pointing out to Celie that God is everywhere—in sunshine, songs, hearts, nature. And all that bountiful beauty, she says as she picks up a purple bellflower, was put there for us to appreciate. “I think it pisses God off,” Shug notes, “if you walk past the color purple and don’t recognize it.”

Because music is such a key ingredient here, you’ll see some recognizable music people in supporting roles, like singer-actress Ciara (as the grownup Nettie), Grammy-winning composer and bandleader John Baptiste (playing Shug’s musician husband), and rapper-actor H.E.R. (as Harpo’s daughter, “Squeak”). They all add to the film’s rich tapestry of characters, and its resonant strum of the heartstrings.

As Celie finds herself, she also finds love in a harsh world that seems to have none. And you’ll find yourself swept up in a flood of emotion with this vibrantly revived, majestically moving tale that will have you seeing—and appreciating—purple in a spectacular new light.

—Neil Pond