The Color Purple

The Color Purple is an important shift in the career of Steven Spielberg, who up until that point had primarily been associated with popcorn entertainment. This marks what he considers his first serious film and is a damn good one in it's own right, as well as one that would lead to a new phase in his career where he could move from blockbuster entertainment to more serious fare with relative ease.

The film charts forty years in the life of Celie Johnson (played by Whoopi Goldberg), who as a young girl is pawned off on Albert Johnson (played by Danny Glover), a strict and abusive man to help raise his kids by her equally abusive father. Arriving at the house, she finds a disaster of the house but seeing no other options, begins to put the place back together and soon the house once again resembles a home. Her spirits are lifted for a time when her sister Nettie (played by Akosua Busia) comes to stay with them, teaching Celie how to read and write, which she had been learning at school. However, Albert runs her off after Nettie fights him off when he tries to rape her on her way to school one day. The years pass Celie gets by as the children grow and the oldest, Harpo (played by Willard E. Pugh) marries Sofia (played by Oprah Winfrey), a strong willed woman that refuses to be abused. Also, around the same time she meets Albert's first love, Shug Avery (played by Margaret Avery), a free-spirited singer moves in. An infatuation develops between Shug and Celie that over the years becomes a strong friendship as Celie finds the strength to not only stand up to Albert but stand on her own.

Steven Spielberg was initially hesitant to take on directing The Color Purple, feeling ill-equipped to tell a story with an all Black cast that takes place in rural Georgia and felt it should be given to a Black director. However, Quincy Jones, who produced the film and composed the score, convinced Spielberg to take the project arguing Spielberg didn't need to be an alien to make E.T. Appreciating that logic, Spielberg agreed to take on the project. The film certainly is a departure from his other films just in subject matter alone. Spielberg considers the film his first grown-up film and it certainly is as the film deals with such hot button topics as incest, rape, abuse and racism within it's two and a half hour run time. But at the same time, Spielberg proves to be the right choice for director because while the film includes these grim topics, he finds a balance with the joys of life as well. And this film is a difficult balancing act because it can get really dark at times, but it can also slide to the other side of the scale and find small joys for Celie as well as she gathers over the course of the film not only the strength to endure, but to rise up as well. Now, I haven't read the novel by Alice Walker that the film is based on, so I can only comment within the context of the film itself. However, I do know that Spielberg chose to downplay the romantic aspects of Celie and Shug's relationship that were present in the novel, fearing it may alienate viewers (although he has since stated he regrets that decision). The film is also gorgeous to look at, with some truly stunning cinematography from Allen Daviau. Quincy Jones provides a fantastic score to the film as well to tie it all together.         

The acting in the film is top notch, starting with a star making turn for Whoopi Goldberg as Celie. Goldberg had been known primarily as a stand-up comedian up until that point but really delivered a fantastic performance that showed all the different aspects of her character as well as her growing strength and anger as well towards the end of the film. Oprah Winfrey makes her film debut as well as Sofia and makes a similarly impressive turn in the film as well, playing a character who doesn't take crap from anybody, even if she winds up paying the price for it. Danny Glover is absolutely fearless in playing the detestable monster that is Albert. The character is absolutely reprehensible and Glover gives the role his all. Margaret Avery gives a fantastic performance as Shug and it's easy to see why Celie falls for her. She gives Shug this sort of vivaciousness and life that you can see why she would pull people in. 

The Color Purple showed that Steven Spielberg could handle more serious fare, racking up 11 Oscar Nominations, although controversially not one for Spielberg himself, and ultimately did not win any. Nonetheless, it proved to be an important stepping stone to give him the confidence to tackle more serious material with films such as Empire of the Sun and more importantly, Schindler's List. The film does still stand on it's own as well as one of Spielberg's absolute best films.