‘The Color Purple’ is …

So, I’m under embargo as far as “The Color Purple” is concerned. Reviews won’t be published until December. However, social media reactions are allowed, so here are some personal thoughts I posted on X:

Oscar pundit Gregory Ellwood has also seen the film and had a good roundup of its Oscar chances over at The Playlist:

We are embargoed from reviewing the Warner Bros. release, but we can say the movie found the packed industry audience giving it a standing ovation while the credits still rolled. A Best Picture nomination is unclear at this point, but the positive early buzz about the cast performances was on target. Danielle Brooks, who is reprising her Tony Award-nominated role as Sofia, seems like a safe bet to earn a Supporting Actress nomination this time around. She’s easily the best performance in the movie.

Ellwood was a little more forthcoming about his thoughts on X …

Danielle Brooks and Taraji are truly great…the direction…I…um…choices. Fantasia has some great moments in second half. That voice! Script, direction, editing don’t help her.

This is one of the last Oscar contenders left to be released — it’s set to hit theaters on Christmas Day, via Warner Bros. The only other film that still hasn’t been seen is George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat.”

“The Color Purple” is directed by Blitz Bazawule (“Black Is King,” “The Burial of Kojo”) and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones. The cast includes Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R, Halle Bailey, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

I do have to mention that I was never a big fan of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 ‘Color Purple,’ but at least that film was beautifully shot and didn’t resort to as much maudlin. It also wasn’t a musical, which helped in not having lukewarm musical numbers stall the narrative momentum at every turn.