The Color Purple - Movie Review Example

The Color Purple This moving film was originally released in 1985. It begins with young Celie, an African American woman,talking to God as she walks to her mother's funeral, pregnant with her father's child. Upon the birth of the baby, Celie begins her adulthood and her baby is taken away from her (as it turns out, she had borne two babies by her father, a boy and a girl). The only person Celie can turn to for comfort is her little sister Nettie, who is her best friend and constant companion.

But soon they are also separated as Nettie is sent away, not to be seen again for many years. Celie is cruelly treated, told she is skinny and ugly, and is finally married to Albert, a handsome but selfish and abusive African American man. Celie spends her time cooking and cleaning, caring for Albert's children, and putting up with Albert's father whom Albert all but worships and Celie hates. Celie makes a friend in tough Sophie, a young girl who marries a Harpo, a dapper young man. Even though Harpo's father is against the marriage, Sophie wins the battle and they are married in the small church.

Sophie and Harpo squabble over who is the boss of the house, and one day when Celie is working in the yard, Harpo asks her how he should control Sophie. She tells him the only thing she knows: "Beat her." After Sophie bawls Celie out for the advice and Harpo shows up with a black eye, Sophie leaves Harpo for something better. Celie wishes she could leave like that, but she knows Albert would likely kill her if she even thought about it. Celie often thinks of Nettie, who had taught her how to read and write, since Nettie had gone to school and Celie did not.

Unknown to Celie, Nettie was writing her letters, which she never saw but asked for often when the post was delivered. When Celie went to town, she often thought she saw her baby girl, whom she had named Olivia. She longed for love and her children, but her self-esteem was further driven into the ground by the arrival of and her husband's affair with Shug Avery. Shug was a flapper and entertainer whom all the men lusted after. As she sang and drank her way into men's beds and luxurious treatment, she befriended Celie after Celie had cared for her when she was ill.

As time went on, Shug continued to work her magic on Celie, helping her stand up for herself and feel strong, helping her to discover the sensual pleasures of being a woman. Celie was besotted with Shug but never mentioned a word of their sexual encounter. Eventually, Shug leaves town with a wealthy African American man and Sophie, with children of her own and a decent job working for a shrill and wealthy white woman, lands in jail after belting a white man who had been insulting her. There is, it seems, no justice or rights for African American women in the early 1900's.

Later, Celie and Shug discover that Nettie has been writing to Celie all along, from Africa. Celie's children are with Nettie and all of them are with missionaries who are suffering the ravages of Afrikaner progress in their villages. Upon finding out that Albert had been lying to her all those long years, Celie finally snaps at Thanksgiving dinner when Sophie was finally released from jail and Albert had gone too far with his insults. She inherited a house from her true father (as it turns out her father was her step father).

One day, cars come up the drive and it is Nettie, Olivia and Adam (Celie's now grown children). The family is finally reunited and Celie's weary and broken spirit is restored.