Parents' Guide to The Color Purple

This heartfelt musical adaptation features touching songs and great performances. Barrino, who reprises her Broadway role, beautifully conveys Celie's emotional journey of grief and survival. Her voice evokes everything from fragility to sorrow to empowerment, and her version of "I'm Here" is a fantastic, unapologetic show-stopper that sums up the story's overarching themes of resilience and perseverance. Director Blitz Bazawule, like his directorial predecessor Steven Spielberg, knows how to focus the film not only on Celie's quiet strength but also on the supporting ensemble, who all get moments to shine. Danielle Brooks is quite the scene-stealer as the fiercely independent Sofia, who doesn't back down from a fight. Henson also stands out as the vivacious Shug, who's a catalyst for Celie's change, love, and joy. The male characters have less nuance to express, but Domingo and Corey Hawkins, who plays Mister's son Harpo, are the inhumane and the tender sides of masculinity in the movie. And despite much smaller roles, David Alan Grier and Louis Gossett Jr. are both effective as Shug's father Reverend Avery and Old Mister.

It might initially feel odd to see such a serious story translated into a musical, but viewers should remember that many musicals tackle mature themes and upsetting topics: war, pogroms, forbidden love, assault, murder. The songs weave seamlessly into the plot, deepening Walker's formative tale. The technical aspects of the film deserve praise, including costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck's array of early 20th-century fashions and production designer Paul Austerberry's recreations of the rural South at that time, particularly juke joints, churches, shops, and Mister's lands. Devotees of the LGBTQIA aspects of Walker's novel may not be more satisfied with Bazawule's handling of Celie and Shug's relationship than they were with Spielberg's, but the romantic thread is more obvious now than it was 37 years ago. Ultimately, it's the message of a Black woman's survival and sisterhood that makes The Color Purple a timeless story, and the musical captures that powerful spirit.