Beloved Review
by "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" (nate AT pyramid DOT net)October 19th, 1998
Beloved (1998)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Albert Hall, Irma P. Hall Screenplay: Adam Brooks, Akosua Busia, Ricahrd LaGravenese Producers: Ronald M. Bozman, Jonathan Demme, Gary Goetzman, Edward Saxon, Oprah Winfrey
Runtime: 175 min.
US Distribution: Touchstone
Rated R: violent images, sexuality, nudity
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson ([email protected])
I know consciously that I'm not supposed to talk about myself in my reviews, but sometimes it really is pertinent: I'm anticipating this review to be the most difficult I've ever written. (I've only written about two hundred, but ignore that for the time being.) You see, I'm taking a literary theory class, and learning how to approach texts that tell stories about people who have lived an existence so vastly different from my own that I can't even begin to imagine how it was for them. I couldn't help but think about Beloved in this context.
While watching Oprah Winfrey talk about Beloved on her show, I knew before seeing it that the film was to be something special. People cared about this production. The men and women involved in it knew the text, and knew how to make it into an effective film. Now that I've seen it, I admire it greatly for many different things. But I feel like an outsider. I don't feel like the intended audience, or that I have anything relevant to say about the picture aside from its technical superiority. I haven't read Toni Morrison's novel; if I had, I may not be having the problems I'm having.
But you don't have to be a Black woman living in the 1800s to admire Beloved's strength and confidence. This is an excellent film -- it is a ghost story that will wrench your emotions and assault your senses. Director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) and the performers have created a truly memorable experience, one that affected me on many levels and challenged me intellectually. And the only problem I have with the picture is that I don't feel like I was invited to watch it. There are issues regarding race that seem to hold all the meaning in the film, and, despite my attempts, I can't quite grasp them. It may be my fault; in fact, I may be mistaken completely. Maybe Beloved is just a ghost story; perhaps the race issues were handled as generally as possible. I don't know. But I'm troubled.
Apparently, the film follows Morrison's book nearly word-for-word. The film opens with a violent and intense look at what seems to be a supernatural encounter: Sethe (Winfrey) and her three children panic as something brings havoc upon their house, tossing furniture and dishes everywhere and wounding their dog. Flash ahead eight years, and Sethe is living in the same house, but only her daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise) is left. They seem to accept the supernatural presence as a given -- they don't know who it is, but it's there to stay.
One day, Paul D (Danny Glover) comes walking back into Sethe's life after eighteen years. They immediately fall for one another, but he's unsettled by the ghosts. He's even more unsettled when a strange young woman suddenly appears on their doorstep. Dressed in black, and eating anything that moves, the girl (played by Thandie Newton) speaks in a gravelly, unattractive voice. She spells out her name for them: B-E-L-O-V-E-D. The origin of Beloved is not explained for some time, but her emergence brings back a whole flood of memories for Sethe, as her encounters with vicious white men of her past are documented in flashback.
Beloved is not a straightforward film. I really should see it again, because it is confusing -- it's not hard to follow because of incompetence, but because the story does not lend itself to easy storytelling techniques. The flashbacks are long and intrusive, but they're supposed to be. Most of this stuff, however, is compensated by the sheer skill with which the film was made. Demme is a master with horrifying material, and he seems the perfect choice for a film of this nature. Some of the flashbacks are truly harrowing, while all of the scenes with Beloved are observed in such a way that makes the viewer uneasy and nervous. Demme's style is mesmerizing -- he utilizes close-ups and point-of-view shots to their fullest, and the result is a visceral, engaging experience.
The acting is some of the best I've seen this year. Winfrey is an amazing actress: I say this not simply because it's true, but because I find it astonishing that I actually lost sight of the fact that I was watching Oprah Winfrey act. She occupies her character fully and with astounding conviction. Glover is very good, and also very subtle, while Elise has a good, solid role as the living daughter. It's Thandie Newton, however, who steals the show -- her representation of this ghost is deeply disturbing; never before has a supernatural figure been so believable in film.
So what am I whining about? Well, this isn't the place to get into race issues. I loved this movie (even though I think it runs a bit too long). It never lost my interest or my attention. But, simply put, I'm not certain what I'm supposed to get out of Beloved, aside from the obvious tale of a ghost and her mother. I know there's more to it than I'm seeing: the scenes in which the old woman, Baby Suggs (Beah Richards), gives long speeches in the forest tell me that I'm missing something crucial. And I doubt that the film was racially-motivated (the film's director is, after all, white). I'm making a big issue of something that may not be an issue at all.
Let me put it this way: in a time when we're supposed to look past skin color, I couldn't help but feel that the color of my own skin kept me from understanding this story the way Oprah Winfrey does.
***1/2 out of ****
(8/10, B+)
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
