TL;DR – While it has its powerful moments, you can’t help but sit there and feel that this would have been better not as a musical.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening for this film

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Color Purple Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that is quite difficult to parse because it is a film of mountains and valleys. When it soars, it soars, and you are captivated by the movie as it sweeps through the sky. But for every peak, we must then wade through a deep valley of missed opportunities. It is such a stark range that it is hard to find your footing at times.

So to set the scene, Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie (Halle Bailey) are grouping up on the Georgia coastline at the start of the 1900s. Things are difficult for the sisters for many reasons, most notably their step-father Alfonso (Deon Cole). His actions have led to Celie being pregnant twice now and both babies being sent away. Life for Celie only becomes worse when she is married off to Ol’ Mister Johnson (Louis Gossett Jr.) and her sister is sent away. But the coming of Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) might be the chance Celie (Fantasia Barrino) needs to find herself.