Catching Up on a Couple of Oscar Contenders
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, though better options may be on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)
My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the same name)
The choices for this week’s reviews came from me needing to see 3 Oscar-nominated-performances (complete lists of all categories as the first item under the Related Links … section so very far below); with that in mind, I'll move on to the context of those specific contenders, see how they look.
Here’s the trailer:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size;
activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $ (as well as recognizing those readers like me who just aren’t that tech-savvy). To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid these all-important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters with colors plus arrows:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
What Happens: We begin in rural, coastal Georgia (U.S.A., not U.S.S.R.) in 1909 where young teenage sisters Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie Harris (Halle Bailey) are devoted to each other, work in their father, Alfonso’s (Deon Cole), general store, and are consistently abused by him as he rapes Celie resulting in 2 pregnancies with him taking the babies from her (Whoopi Goldberg has a cameo as a midwife with the second one), removing them to some unknown fate (the girls’ mother died sometime prior to this story’s start). One day, local farmer/banjo player Albert “Mister” Johnson (Colman Domingo) becomes attracted to Nettie, talks with Alfonso about taking her as a wife, settles for Celie instead with this sad girl expected to just cook, clean, and raise his 3 children from a previous wife. Alfonso attempts to molest Nettie, so he comes to live with Celie and Mister, but when he also makes a move on her she refuses; he drives her out into the rain, never to return. In 1917, Celie’s (now played by Fantasia Barrino) still married to Mister whose son, Harpo (Corey Hawkins), is married to big, strong Sofia (Danielle Brooks) who’ll have none of his attempts to dominate her so instead he builds them a home on the dock of some local water, although Sofia soon leaves, tired of Harpo’s attempts to control her; in 1922 he turns the house into a juke joint, invites local jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) to return (apparently, she’d been Mister’s lover sometime back but had no interest in anything more permanent with him) as the star attraction.
Shug shows up, yet she’s sick so she stays at Mister’s house in a separate bedroom, attended to by Celie with friendship growing between these women as Shug heals. Shug provides a successful opening to Harpo’s enterprise until Sofia shows up, dances with him which produces a fight with his current “squeeze,” Mary “Squeak” Agnes (H.E.R.), leading to a saloon-wide-brawl. Celie and Shug kiss, sleep together that night (we don’t know for sure what else), with Shug retrieving mail next morning (Mister always did this, but today he’s passed out drunk) where she finds a letter to Celie from Nettie (long believed dead by her sister); this leads to a quick search of the house where they find a trove of Nettie letters kept from Celie by her harsh husband; the letters reveal Nettie is now in Africa with a missionary couple who, by chance, are the ones that years ago adopted Celie’s babies.
Next, in 1930, comes a major plot-twist as Sofia with her new man, Buster (Stephen Hill), goes into town where the White mayor’s wife, Miss Millie (Elizabeth Marvel) insists Sofia should be her maid; Sofia says “Hell, no,” drawing an angry response from the mayor (Charles Green), a severe beating, and a long sentence in the jail, where Celie visits her every week. Eventually, dejected Sofia’s released but is forced to be the maid anyway. In 1943 Shug returns from performing in Memphis but with new husband Grady (Jon Baptiste), greatly irritating Mister (who’s lucky Shug showed up when she did because Celie, forced to shave him with a straight razor, was possibly about to cut his neck). Celie finally confronts Mister at a dinner with his father, Ol’ Mister Johnson (Louis Gossett Jr.), then goes to Memphis with Shug (Mary Agnes comes along too), dropping a curse on Mister as she leaves, which has an impact as his crops are ruined by beetles. ⇒In 1945 Alfonso dies with his new wife, Mary Ellen (Adetinpo Thomas) revealing to Celie that she was simply his adopted daughter so the store is left to her from her late mother’s will; Shug finally makes amends with her preacher father, Rev. Avery (David Alan Grier), who’d rejected her lifestyle. Mister now wants to atone for his treatment of Celie so he buys some pants from her store, makes plans to bring Nettie (now played by Ciara [Princess Harris]), her husband, and Celie’s now-grown-children, Adam (Terrence J. Smith) and Olivia (Tiffany Elle Burgess), back from Africa. By 1947 the reunion happens with many of the story’s characters now gathered for a huge welcome-home-celebration.⇐
So What? The narrative history of The Color Purple is extensive, beginning with Alice Walker’s novel of that foundational-name in 1982 (with a much-more-definitive-depiction of a lesbian relationship between Shug and Celie than found in any other version), leading to its first cinematic adaptation in 1985 (Steven Spielberg)—11 Oscar nominations but no wins, along with criticism of stereotyping Blacks and condemning Black men, charges disputed by stars Oprah Winfrey (Sofia) and Whoopi Goldberg (Celie)—followed by a stage musical (Brenda Russell, Ailee Willis, Stephen Bray, Marsha Norman), adding songs to the flow of the story (largely panned by critics at the time yet won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for its 2015 return), then serving as the basis for this recent movie with the plots essentially similar based on a summary I’ve seen (which brings back Spielberg and Quincy Jones as producers of the 1985 version to those same roles for this new manifestation, along with Oprah Winfrey and Scott Sanders). One major difference between the 2 movies is the Spielberg one was nominated for many Oscars but won none (though it got its own hefty share of other wins and noms), while the current one has only 1 Oscar nom, for Danielle Brooks as Best Supporting Actress (taking on the role commanded by Winfrey [Oscar-nom] in 1985).
However, this new manifestation has piled up a large number of wins, nominations, and pending possibilities anyway, so we’ll see what its ultimate haul becomes as awards season continues this spring. I haven’t seen the stage version, although I’ve read that several song were cut from that production for this movie, while “Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)” (Oscar-nominated back then) sung by Shug Avery in 1985 and “She Be Mine” cut from the Broadway production were inserted here, with a couple of new songs added, "Keep it Movin’" and “Lifeline.” Quite honestly, for me there’s more than enough song (and dance) numbers already, so while the ones cut likely added to the expected-length of a major stage musical, I’m just as glad they didn’t extend this … Purple into the increasingly-popular (with filmmakers, not necessarily bladder-challenged-audiences) 3-hour running times of recent filmic works. Spielberg’s movie was rejected by those who felt it was too sentimental. (I do remember showing it to students once, commenting at the end they should have used an adaptation of “we all live in a mellow submarine” to accompany the end credits because it did seem to finish up on a particularly sweet note.) Overall, though, I enjoyed what I saw of that adaptation, especially because this story has the courage to show interpersonal disruption among these Black characters in the post-Civil War-South brought about internally among families rather than the usual oppression by the surrounding Whites—not that I'd ever reject any depiction like that, as some contemporary Southern White politicians are now trying to do, as it’s always been the horrible truth.
But while brutal men like Alphonso and Mister (Danny Glover in Spielberg's movie) may have been conditioned to be abusers by the harsh climate they endured from the racism only shown in this story by the local town’s mayor toward Sofia, the sins of the main Black men we see must still be owned by them, so I applaud Walker for challenging any preconceptions about any supposed-harmony within all Black families during this early-to-mid-20th century-period. Thus far, Walker’s book has had the most critical success of any version of this story, winning in 1983 the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction, although it’s been banned in some quarters (see Reference 17 in this link, also this current link about Florida, where it joins Paradise Lost, Brave New World, East of Eden, Catch 22, and Beloved among others) for sexual explicitness, explicit language, violence, and homosexuality, with little of any of that too notable in the various adaptations, except for the ongoing abuse of the women. The adaptations get blasted also, such as Spielberg's movie panned for being a Black story told by a White director and for greatly reducing the sexual relationship between Celie and Shug (he says in order to secure a PG-13 rating [same situation in the current version—yet, the violence against women is acceptable?])—still, Rotten Tomatoes gave it 73% positive reviews, Metacritic offered a 78% average score, even as The New York Times’ Janet Maslin (not easy to please) said (1985) it “manages to have momentum, warmth and staying power” even as she cites many problems; as for the play’s addition of music, David Rooney in Variety (2005) said: “the score […] sounds like ‘80’s-era Dionne Warwick […] and too many songs feel incomplete. [¶] But […] the mainstream auds to whom this show is pitched will go out on a feel-good high, elevated by Walker’s affirmation of the resilience of the human spirit.” Praise, yet hesitations.
Regarding the latest movie incarnation, I’ll cite the CCAL below but admit most of these songs just don’t add to my interest in the underlying story, so I could have easily settled for a harsher version of Spielberg’s approach without the need to add musical interludes that, for me, simply comment on what’s already been presented in the action/dialogue rather than moving the story along with music enhancing/extending what’s in the characters’ verbal/visual activities (Singin’ in the Rain [Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen; 1952] and Cabaret [Bob Fosse; 1972] take this former approach, though I’d say with greater impact while West Side Story [Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins; 1961] or Chicago [Rob Marshall; 2002], in my opinion, exemplify musicals using song [and/or] dance to further the story, not just repeat it). Spielberg admits he may not have been the most appropriate director of Walker’s story (even as many were well-satisfied with what he did); in the same manner, maybe I—as an old White guy—am not the best target audience for this new version of … Purple, but for me there was little to be gained from much of this musical route, despite some spectacular production numbers.
Bottom Line Final Comments: This new version of The Color Purple debuted in domestic (U.S.-Canada) theaters on December 25, 2023 with its widest release in 3,218 of them (now down to 503 ); so far it’s grossed $60 million (globally, $62.2 million); a more-accessible-option to watch it now, though, likely is on streaming where you can find $19.99 rentals at Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Vudu, etc. The CCAL is supportive of you doing so, with the Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 83%, while the Metacritic average score is (for them) a healthy 72%. Ironically, for me, however, the main reason I watched it was to see Brooks' Oscar-nominated-performance, yet—while she’s powerful-enough in a few scenes—I’d have taken Henson as the Supporting Actress nominee here, but with either likely to lose to any of the other nominees, especially Jodie Foster for Nyad (more on her in the review below) or Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, 2023 [review in our December 13, 2023 posting), possibly the front-runner, which would still give the award to a worthy Black actor. Overall, it’s always encouraging to see a high-profile-movie with a cast primarily of People of Color, and this new … Purple is no exception, especially with its uplifting sense of the ever-present-promise of redemption, even from the most seemingly-defeating-cluster of circumstances, illustrated by the title which comes from a scene where Celie and Shug are walking through a field when Shug notes the beauty of a cluster of purple flowers, telling Celie that God put such casual uplift into our ordinary circumstances in order for us to recognize and appreciate the wonder that surrounds us even if we’re not always aware of it.
Following upon this marvelous metaphor that traces its way back to Alice Walker, I’ll finish with my own review-closure-tactic of a Musical Metaphor—actually, 2 of them this time—as I do finally show some appreciation for this movie’s songs, beginning with one beauty simply called “The Color Purple (Reprise)” (from the 2023 soundtrack album) sung by many in the cast at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=xzzOD-LvXKQ as old hurts by and to the various characters are healed: “I came into this world with God / And when I finally looked inside / I found it / Just as close as my breath is to me.” Now, as I try to go out here with a more-accepting-attitude of the place for music in this movie, I’ll leave you with the song that accompanies the final credits, "Superpower," (from the 2023 The Color Purple (Music From And Inspired By) album), sung by Fantasia, who played Celie on Broadway in 2007-‘08, a song basically in celebration of Celie's love for Nettie but, by extension, with many others in her life as well: “No way, no days I didn’t think about you / On my soul, you’re the reason I made it through / Every drop of every tear / Every ounce of my heart, you’re the reason I’m here.” If you choose to be “here” with this latest enunciation of The Color Purple I think you’ll find a lot of reasons to be satisfied with that choice, maybe more so with the music as a whole than I can.
SHORT TAKES
Here’s the trailer:
This biopic explores a crucial aspect in the life of Diana Nyad (born 1949), specifically her attempts to swim from Cuba to Key West, FL which she first attempted (but was forced to abandon her quest due to rough seas) in 1978 (only time she swam within a shark cage), then much later (without the cage) in 2011 (twice) and 2012, foiled in these attempts by an asthma attack, jellyfish stings, and another fierce storm. Finally, in 2013 when she was 64, despite exhaustion and hallucinations, she makes the difficult 111-mile-journey in just under 53 hours, encouraged all the way by a team on the boat beside her, especially her coach/close friend, Bonnie Stoll; if you want factual details on this part of her life, you can read a short biography, along with a much-more-detailed-one. This cinematic-version of her Cuba-to-Florida-passion tells us that her Greek adoptive-father, Aristotle Nyad (Mom divorced her biological Dad), encouraged her to seek fame in swimming because the family name means “water nymph,” so she began devoting her life to it at an early age, despite ongoing molestation from a coach, Jack Nelson (Eric T. Miller), from age 14 throughout high-school.
Eventually, she concentrated on marathon-swimming, gaining notoriety for her successes, setting her up in her own mind for the grueling Cuba-to-Florida-task. In the movie, we get brief flashbacks to those younger days, but the focus is on her determination to conquer the life-threatening-challenge of a grueling swim requiring her to avoid sharks, jellyfish, storms, and the Gulf Stream which could easily push her into the Atlantic Ocean. As we watch these increasingly-frustrating-attempts at success we have Annette Bening as Nyad, Jodie Foster as Stoll, Rhys Ifans as the boat’s navigator, John Bartlett, both of these latter 2 temporarily giving up on Nyad’s ongoing obsession until agreeing to a last attempt of her goal. Obviously, she succeeded (or there wouldn’t be much point in making this movie), but, despite the sense on screen of the uplifting message of triumph over adversity (no matter your age or difficulty of the situation), there’s a problem here which isn’t addressed even in any pre-credits closing text, which is that Nyad’s accomplishment has never been officially recognized due to discrepancies in record-keeping (which would maybe reveal some forbidden rests on the boat?), so the question becomes: Can we applaud an inspirational story that may not be as fully factual as it purports to be, or should we just accept whatever fictionalizations might be at play here in support of an uplifting concept, no matter how fully-accurate it is? Dilemma!
Mick LaSalle in my local San Francisco Chronicle is a big supporter: “It’s a strange thing that an act of physical endurance that accomplishes no larger purpose should be so inspiring. But some achievements become bigger than themselves by somehow standing for something intangible, such as the importance of challenging oneself, and of being alive while you’re alive.” Conversely, Nick Schager of the Daily Beast says: “Based on its subject’s book [Find a Way, 2015]—and therefore taking her accomplishments, and version of events, at face value […] there’s no reference to the many falsehoods Diana has apparently told about her past, there’s zero overt mention of the controversy surrounding her signature triumph—thereby proving that the film cares more about rah-rah uplift than thorny inquiry or messy reality.” We do get documentary footage of people presented in the movie, but mostly it’s the docudrama we see on screen—marvelously done; if that’s truly Bening in the water she’s just as impactful as the cinematography—taking us from Nyad’s frustration with turning 60, seemingly being put out to pasture by society, to her triumphant finish on the Florida sand where she’s gracious enough to know this is a team—not just an individual—accomplishment.
I’m moved by how this woman pushes on against desperate odds to victory, yet now I know about the questions raised regarding her swim I wonder how much I’ve been manipulated, an influence on my 3½ stars-rating. The Oscar Academy wasn’t distracted, though; those voters put Bening into competition for Actress in a Leading Role, Foster for Actress in a Supporting Role. (This movie completely eluded me last fall when it first became available [released theatrically to select theaters in October, 2023; only reported income was from Portugal where it made a mere $16,056]; there have also been lots of other nominations, a few wins, as well as plenty of pending possibilities.) Now it's free to Netflix streaming subscribers with the CCAL split in its support: RT positive reviews at 86%, MC average score at 64%. One aspect of it I particularly liked, though, was the soundtrack which included Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” Janis Joplin’s “Peace of My Heart,” Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” and Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” but for my Musical Metaphor choice I’ll take another one from the movie, the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Carry On” (on their 1970 Déjà Vu album) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJqyQ0b5tw because whatever you (or I) may think of Diana Nyad, the ultimate message of this movie seems to be: “Carry on / Love is coming / Love is coming to us all.” Given Nyad’s self-professed, self-focused outlook on life as admitted by her in this movie's presentation, the more-generous-overall-message is something I've appreciated.
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
Some options for your consideration: (1) 2024 Oscar nominations for 2023 releases; (2) Many recent additions to Vudu rental ($19.99) streaming (most of them also on Amazon, Apple, etc.) from various years including 2023's Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Ferrari.
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