Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This story holds a deeper meaning. It is about something coming back to haunt us all. It is about sins that we commit that never really go away until we can learn to forgive ourselves and those who have offended us. It is about putting the pieces of the mirror of life together and looking deeply into it to see what is really in our souls.
Supernatural evil forces surrounding us can scare us in movies, but what should really frighten us is how we have treated people throughout time. How we have enslaved people in many ways and have treated them as less than human. This story echoes these thoughts.
This is a deeply moving film that must be given your full attention to understand the complexities. I was literally captivated: body, soul and spirit. I was glued to the couch, too scared to go anywhere. ;>
The opening scenes are very violent and shocking. If you didn't read the reviews you would really be wondering if you wanted to keep watching the movie as I did. However, they cleverly showed you only enough to make you terribly curious. What throws a dog against the wall? That is why I was watching to find out what the heck had just happened. It is like a puzzle and you have to pick up a piece here and there. For the mind that analyzes everything...this is a dream movie.
The story does not play out in a sequence of events as some stories do. It slips back into time, dragging out the horrific past and adding bits here and there to make you want to understand the entire story. I thought this was very cleverly done.
The basic story running on the first level is about Sethe's life. She is a slave who escapes from a cruel Kentucky plantation called: "Sweet Home." Paul D was also a slave and yet he seems to have more inner strength even though he has seen it all. Sethe is obviously very troubled from her experiences and is determined not to let her children experience the horrors of slavery. She and her family are living on a plot outside of Cincinnati, Ohio eight years after the end of the Civil War.
When slave hunters threaten to take her children back to the plantation, she kills one of her daughters.
She continues to live with her second daughter Denver after her two sons run away. The murdered child then haunts their shack with a red glow until she actually returns in bodily form. Reality and the supernatural are blended together to make this the most creepy movie you will ever see because the creepiness is so subtle it takes you off guard.
Oprah is incredible as an actress. Kimberley Elise (Denver) and Thandie Newton are incredible in their roles. I have never been so freaked out by anyone's facial expressions in my life. The things Thandie Newton can do with her face rival the best. Kimberley's eyes were at times almost ethereal. Danny Glover adds a much needed calm to the movie as he seems to be living in reality most of the time.
Perhaps this movie did not do well because it is more for those who are very patient and caters to a smaller audience with eclectic tastes. This is not really for the mainstream audience. I thought the movie was quite long. Some movies are best viewed at home when they are of this length. The setting in which you view a movie is often very important to your enjoyment.
Rare, vivid, provocative, authentic, intelligent, complex, artistic, scary, emotional, beautiful, sad, delirious, confusing, secretive and overall, great story telling.
~The Rebecca Review
Click Here to see more reviews about: Beloved (1998)
Oprah Winfrey (THE COLOR PURPLE) and Danny Glover (LETHAL WEAPON IV, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) play the unforgettable lead roles in a powerful, widely acclaimed cinematic triumph from Jonathan Demme -- the Academy Award(R)-winning director of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. On a difficult journey to find freedom, Sethe (Winfrey) is constantly confronted by the secrets that have haunted her for years. Then, an old friend from out of her past (Glover) unexpectedly reenters her life. With his help, Sethe may finally be able to rediscover who she is and regain her lost sense of hope. Also featuring outstanding performances from Thandie Newton (GRIDLOCK'D) and Lisa Gay Hamilton (TV's THE PRACTICE) -- you'll agree with critics everywhere who've hailed this landmark adaptation of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel as one of the year's finest films!
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