BELOVED (M). (Touchstone/Buena Vista International) Director: Jonathan Demme Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Irma P Hall, Albert Hall, Beah Richards, Kessia Kordelle, Jude Ciccolella, Jason Robards, Tracey Walter Running time: 172 minutes.
In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for Oprah Winfrey to give up her day job. America's queen of daytime television talk shows has quit the small screen to establish a new career in movies with Beloved, her first feature film since the memorable The Colour Purple 14 years ago. Based on Toni Morrison's acclaimed 1987 novel, Beloved has been something of a labour of love for Winfrey, who has nurtured the project for over a decade. However, this disappointing film should have been much more powerful, especially given the time and effort spent on refining and developing it.
The film tells of the hardships confronting former slaves as they try to come to terms with their freedom and the costly legacy of their recent blood soaked past. This is rich territory we have explored before, most notably in the epic tv series Roots. Beloved is an unsatisfactory and occasionally unfathomable mix of history, family drama, horror, mysticism, and unexplained magic that fails to leave such a lasting impression.
Set in the mid-1870's, the film centres around Sethe (Winfrey), a former slave haunted by her past and the soul destroying sacrifices she had to make to ensure her own survival. Sethe lives in the old family house on the outskirts of Cincinnati and is slowly coming to terms with her independence. She is shunned by most of the townsfolk, for reasons that we only slowly learn about. The scars of the past also affect her daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise, from Set It Off, etc), who is reluctant to leave the house.
The healing process begins with the arrival of two very different people. Paul D (Danny Glover) is a former slave and family friend, who re-enters Sethe's life after 18 years. He brings happiness and love back into Sethe's life, until even her unassuaged guilt proves too much. The other catalyst is Beloved (Thandie Newton, from Flirting, etc), a scarred and twisted young woman of mysterious origins, whose presence in the house becomes both threatening and unnerving.
This is the first film from Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence Of The Lambs, etc) since 1993's Philadelphia. Although he handles the material with restraint, except for a couple of notable exceptions, his direction seems to lack a strong focus. It's almost as if he lacks the same depth of passion and commitment to the story as Winfrey and most of the production crew. Three writers, including Richard LaGravenese (The Bridges Of Madison County, etc) and Adam Brooks (Practical Magic, etc) have shaped this multi-layered story, but there are still a number of problems with the narrative structure. Despite its lengthy running time, there is a suggestion that many characters and scenes were sacrificed on the cutting room floor. Veterans Jason Robards and Tracey Walter (who both appeared in Demme's Philadelphia) are wasted in small, wordless roles.
Brief, sepia toned flashbacks provides glimpses of some of the horrors endured by the slaves in America's south before the Civil War. Tak Fujimoto's cinematography is superb, and Rachel Portman's score, which draws heavily on Afro-American chants, is also evocative.
Winfrey runs the gamut of emotions here, and her complex performance provides the film with much of its emotional depth. Glover is understated in a role that never really goes anywhere. Newton is superb, and delivers an emotionally and physically demanding performance as the childlike Beloved.
Despite its rich source material and its fine production credentials, Beloved is a huge disappointment, and doesn't really endear itself to audiences.
* greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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