The Color Purple (1985)

  Here's another unfortunate gap in my movie knowledge.  I had never seen The Color Purple.  I knew stuff about it.  Like it was nominated for a then record 11 Oscars and lost every single one, tying it with The Turning Point for most nominations with no win.  I knew it was Oprah Winfrey's acting debut.  I knew Steven Spielberg directed it.  I did not know that he would get his first Director's Guild of America award for it, but the fact that he did and the majority Black cast won nothing is some bullshit.

Celie Johnson (Whoopi Goldberg) has never known love her entire life.  Her father (Leonard Jackson) sexually abused her, then sold her children to a minister and his wife.  Then he gave Celie in marriage to Mister (Danny Glover), when Mister really wanted Celie's younger, prettier sister Nettie (Akosua Busia).  Mister immediately put Celie to work, cleaning his house, caring for his horrible children from a previous marriage, and beating her for failing.  He even runs Nettie off after she refuses his advances.  Celie has no friends, no family, no sense of self.  Her only examples of confidence are her step-son's wife, the fiery Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), and her husband's mistress, the glamorous Shug (Margaret Avery).

This is less a story about racism (but it's there, holy shit) than it is about abuse.  There's so much abuse.  Generational, systemic, physical, sexual, emotional and psychological.  A Baskin Robbins of abuse.  Despite that, or maybe because of it, the movie is very sweet, bordering on saccharine towards the end.  Your mileage may vary on that.  I felt like it was a little too neat, a little too pandering to an audience that just watched two and a half hours of a Black woman's pain.  12 Years a Slave this is not.  Fortunately, it's not Green Book either.  The focus is centered on Celie and Goldberg's performance is nothing short of phenomenal.  I grew up with Sister Act, Ghost, and even further back with Jumping Jack Flash, so I have seen Whoopi Goldberg do comedy, action, and romance but this was the first time I saw how incredible a dramatic actress she is.  And I'm so mad it took me this long.

Anyway, it's currently streaming on Hulu.