Beloved
1.5/4
Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton
Rated R for Violent Images, Sexuality and Nudity
It really sucks when you have to trash a movie that is a passion project for someone involved. Either because you like them as an actor/filmmaker or because you know how hard it is to get a film off the ground, especially if it's not a guaranteed blockbuster. For years, Oprah Winfrey wanted to bring Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the screen. Unfortunately, judging by the result of her passion and hard work, it probably should have stayed a novel.
Sethe (Winfrey) is an ex-slave who lives with her daughter Denver (Elise) on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Their house is haunted, but when Sethe's old friend Paul D (Glover) comes, it goes away. That's when they meet a mysterious young woman who calls herself Beloved (Newton). Sethe forms a motherly bond with her almost instantly while Denver is ambivalent. Paul D doesn't trust her and eventually leaves. It soon becomes clear that Beloved is going to open up some of Sethe's old wounds.
"Beloved" is a ghost story, although anyone expecting a traditional ghost story is going to be bored out of their minds...then again, so will everyone else. This isn't a horror movie. It's a drama about coming to terms with the horrors of the past and the price we pay for our actions.
If the film fails, it is not for lack of trying on part of the actors. Having Oprah, the talk show queen, star in a movie may seem like the work of an overgrown ego or a studio wanting quick marketing cash at the expense of quality. Fortunately, this is not the case. Oprah gives a terrific performance with only a few flat spots. Even those who didn't watch her show (like me), she's a recognizable face. But it doesn't take long for us to forget it's her. And that's the mark of a good actress. Her interpretation of Sethe is fascinating because we understand her way of thinking. She has done some horrible things, but horrible things have also been done to her.
Able support is provided by Danny Glover (who is better than the "Lethal Weapon" franchise) and Kimberly Elise. Thandie Newton is a strange case. Newton is a gifted actress capable of terrific performances ("Crash," her guest stint on "E.R."), but Beloved is annoying. She's supposed to be an infantile woman, but Newton doesn't know how to play her. It's not her fault, however. The character is ineptly written.
And thus we come to the film's biggest problem, one that happens far too often: the script. This is a badly written film. Maybe the source material was unfilmable. But the film version is filled with inconsistencies, bizarre interludes (the streamers) and is about an hour too long.
The film was directed by Jonathan Demme, who made "The Silence of the Lambs." He's an odd choice for the film, and this is why. He doesn't know what to do with the script or the material. Demme gives it a game try, but he should have insisted on some drastic rewrites in order to clean things up.
It's sad, really. This could have been a powerful story and Sethe is a great character. At least they tried something different, which is always encouraged, even if the result is a disaster like this.
Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton
Rated R for Violent Images, Sexuality and Nudity
It really sucks when you have to trash a movie that is a passion project for someone involved. Either because you like them as an actor/filmmaker or because you know how hard it is to get a film off the ground, especially if it's not a guaranteed blockbuster. For years, Oprah Winfrey wanted to bring Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the screen. Unfortunately, judging by the result of her passion and hard work, it probably should have stayed a novel.
Sethe (Winfrey) is an ex-slave who lives with her daughter Denver (Elise) on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Their house is haunted, but when Sethe's old friend Paul D (Glover) comes, it goes away. That's when they meet a mysterious young woman who calls herself Beloved (Newton). Sethe forms a motherly bond with her almost instantly while Denver is ambivalent. Paul D doesn't trust her and eventually leaves. It soon becomes clear that Beloved is going to open up some of Sethe's old wounds.
"Beloved" is a ghost story, although anyone expecting a traditional ghost story is going to be bored out of their minds...then again, so will everyone else. This isn't a horror movie. It's a drama about coming to terms with the horrors of the past and the price we pay for our actions.
If the film fails, it is not for lack of trying on part of the actors. Having Oprah, the talk show queen, star in a movie may seem like the work of an overgrown ego or a studio wanting quick marketing cash at the expense of quality. Fortunately, this is not the case. Oprah gives a terrific performance with only a few flat spots. Even those who didn't watch her show (like me), she's a recognizable face. But it doesn't take long for us to forget it's her. And that's the mark of a good actress. Her interpretation of Sethe is fascinating because we understand her way of thinking. She has done some horrible things, but horrible things have also been done to her.
Able support is provided by Danny Glover (who is better than the "Lethal Weapon" franchise) and Kimberly Elise. Thandie Newton is a strange case. Newton is a gifted actress capable of terrific performances ("Crash," her guest stint on "E.R."), but Beloved is annoying. She's supposed to be an infantile woman, but Newton doesn't know how to play her. It's not her fault, however. The character is ineptly written.
And thus we come to the film's biggest problem, one that happens far too often: the script. This is a badly written film. Maybe the source material was unfilmable. But the film version is filled with inconsistencies, bizarre interludes (the streamers) and is about an hour too long.
The film was directed by Jonathan Demme, who made "The Silence of the Lambs." He's an odd choice for the film, and this is why. He doesn't know what to do with the script or the material. Demme gives it a game try, but he should have insisted on some drastic rewrites in order to clean things up.
It's sad, really. This could have been a powerful story and Sethe is a great character. At least they tried something different, which is always encouraged, even if the result is a disaster like this.
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