Beloved (1998/I)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers (WGA):

Toni Morrison (novel)
Akosua Busia (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The past has a life of its own.

Plot:

Based on the book by Toni Morrison, in which a slave is visited by the spirit of her deceased daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Physical Abuse | Fire | Cincinnati Ohio | Country | Farmhouse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Oprah Winfrey	...	Sethe
Danny Glover	...	Paul D Garner
Thandie Newton	...	Beloved
Kimberly Elise	...	Denver
Beah Richards	...	Baby Suggs, aka Grandma Baby
Lisa Gay Hamilton	...	Younger Sethe
Albert Hall	...	Stamp Paid
Irma P. Hall	...	Ella
Carol Jean Lewis	...	Janey Wagon
Kessia Randall	...	Amy Denver (as Kessia Kordelle)
Jude Ciccolella	...	Schoolteacher
Anthony Chisholm	...	Langhorne
Dorothy Love Coates	...	M. Lucille Williams
Jane White	...	Lady Jones
Yada Beener	...	Denver aged 9

MPAA:

Rated R for violent images, sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | France:U | Germany:16 (bw) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36139) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Fair Hill Natural Resources Area - 376 Fair Hill Drive, Fair Hill, Maryland, USA

Company:

Clinica Estetico

Trivia:

To prepare for her role as a slave, Oprah Winfrey went through a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods.

Goofs:

Continuity: The amount of lemonade in the glass while at the fairgrounds.

Quotes:

Sethe: I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing inbetween but the daughter I'm holding in my arms.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Missed Call (2008)

Soundtrack:

I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say

A Fair Film

Beloved the movie seeks to rival Beloved the novel in telling the African-American story. While it could not attempt to capture all of the richness of Morrison's great novel, it does do what it can in the constraints of a feature movie. The performances are phenomenal, and any Oscar nominations will be well deserved. The Ohio/Kentucky background takes one's breath away and the movie really does grip its viewer during key scenes

However, Morrison's non-linear style did not translate as well on the big screen and the flashbacks are truly confusing at points. Moreover, the movie has about three natural climaxes which heighten the viewer's awareness of the length of the movie.

All told, it is a good movie, but it is not a must-see movie, nor will it have the cultural impact Oprah intended.

(As for no likeable white characters which some posts have charged, first Mr. Baldwin is a likeable white person. Second, in a post-slavery society of Ohio/Kentucky, why do there have to be any good whites in this narrow world? Oh yeah, don't be mad at Oprah for that--Morrison didn't include any in her book either)