PROS:
~Whoopi Goldberg portrays brilliantly Celie, a human being who needs and deserves love. Celie is a woman with a lost identity followed by her defiance in reclaiming the life she lost. Through her character the film depicts the problems of sexism, oppression and systematic abuse. The song of Shug for her or when she dresses like her are a few moments of happiness through a harsh and unfair world. For all these reasons, you root for her when she stands up against Albert.
~The first act of the movie is the best part of the film despite the rough scenes. We see through a couple scenes a woman who is raped and impergrated by her father, gives birth in a dirty barn, forced to marry an older man that constanly beats her and uses her as his slave by cooking and providing for his children. The separation between the sisters is a heartrending moment and makes their reunification in the end emotionally touching.
~The rest of the cast is fantastic. Donald Glover as the cruel husband, Albert is awesome and you feel disguise for him because he treats his wife like property. Oprah Winfrey gives a powerful performance as Sofia and you feel her pain when she is treated like garbage and doesn't even have the time to be with her children in Christmas. Margaret Avery as Shug is a woman who is an inspiration to Celie and shows that a sinner can have a soul too.
~Spielberg challenged himself here after his successful blockbusters and his direction is subtle and beautiful. The transition from the sisters playing in the purple fields to the leather belt hanging in the bed is a nice way to prepare the audience for what is coming. Besides this, the music score by Quincy Jones is wonderful and enhances perfectly the dramatic tension.
CONS: ~The film succumbs to many conveniences and doesn't escape from the typical holywood standards. The happy closure of Shug is poorly executed and her singing sequence in the end is awkward. Furthermore , the remorse of Albert by helping the two sisters to connect again is very unrealistic. ~Another problem of the film is its continuity. After the shocking first act and the attachment to the two sisters, the movie forgets this storyline until the end. In other worlds, you are immersed into the film because of their strong connection and suddenly the movie puts you into other subplots that don't grab you in the same level. ~The tone of the movie is incoherent in some parts and the humor doesn't work among the serious subjects. For example, the slapstick humor around the character of Harpo is unfitting and the scene with the white lady surrounding by some black men is a bit silly. Also, it is weird that the abuser is played as a joke character in some scenes.
CONS: ~The film succumbs to many conveniences and doesn't escape from the typical holywood standards. The happy closure of Shug is poorly executed and her singing sequence in the end is awkward. Furthermore , the remorse of Albert by helping the two sisters to connect again is very unrealistic. ~Another problem of the film is its continuity. After the shocking first act and the attachment to the two sisters, the movie forgets this storyline until the end. In other worlds, you are immersed into the film because of their strong connection and suddenly the movie puts you into other subplots that don't grab you in the same level. ~The tone of the movie is incoherent in some parts and the humor doesn't work among the serious subjects. For example, the slapstick humor around the character of Harpo is unfitting and the scene with the white lady surrounding by some black men is a bit silly. Also, it is weird that the abuser is played as a joke character in some scenes.