‘Beloved’ has been a labor of love 10 years in the making. Finally leaving the last
bit of red tape behind her, Oprah got the green light to adapt the Toni Morrison novel for
the screen. Jonathan Demme (‘Philadelphia’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’) was hired to direct
the film and Oprah was cast in the lead role as Sethe, a slave who will undergo some of
life’s particularly brutal torture, both physically and emotionally. Danny Glover plays
Paul D, another former slave and old friend of Sethe’s. Also in tow are Thandie Newton
(as Beloved) and Kimberly Elise (as Denver, Sethe’s surrogate daughter).

 Beloved is a film like no other. While it does have a truly fascinating story within
it - - the atmosphere the filmmakers have created is an unbelievably tense, gothic
nightmare. They have concocted a savagely haunting morality trip / family drama /
supernatural horror film. In the process, they’ve come up with a voice that I believe is
unmatched in recent cinema.

 The story concerns the life that Sethe is leading when Paul D comes to visit her,
bringing the past out of her subconscious. Living with a ghost and an introverted girl who
clings to her, Sethe manages to hold down a job, dangling the family just above poverty.
The past is the real kicker. While a slave, Sethe’s seemingly sound judgements are
brought to a boil when a girl called Beloved arrives in the present, perched on a tree
stump and covered in lady bugs and butterflies.

 While Oprah Winfrey disappears into the role (as she did in Spielberg’s 1985
masterpiece ‘The Color Purple’), the real genius of her character is the depth at which the
screenplay allows us to view her. Giving us just a little at a time, we gradually begin to
understand the psyche of this very strong woman. Glover gives the usual knockout
performance. The younger performers, Elise and Newton are extraordinary. Newton, who
carries herself as if a child born into an 18 year old body, devoid of motor skills, brings
about a truly beautiful realization of the title character. Elise bears the weight of the film
when necessary and shows a real metamorphosis of character.

 Though I enjoyed the storytelling and acting aspects of the film, the real genius is
in it’s presentation.  I enjoyed the ambiguous nature of the film. It allowed the film to
give us the thoughts and memories taken directly from a human mind in a way more
characteristic to the way thoughts and memories are revealed in real life (particularly if
your real life is one taunted by repression, anger, sadness, guilt and loss - that's a hell of a
burden to try and narrow into a direct narrative). Thoughts and memories presented in
layer upon layer - - and dazzlingly meshed onscreen.

 The combination of supernatural fantasy that was a reality in these people's lives
and, the actual reality of former slaves, I thought, made for just the right pitch of gothic
horror. Though few and far between, the flashbacks to slave life on the plantation “Sweet
Home” were downright disturbing. Using saturated color as a means of distinguishing
past from present, the film’s visuals begin to dig into the audience. This is a film that will
stay with you long after you leave the theater.

 The final word on ‘Beloved’ was the first thing that occurred to me. While I was
experiencing the film the one thing that stood out was the voice it seemed to have. It
really felt more like the Reconstruction era than any film I’ve seen. While it wasn’t a
perfect film that truly does justice to the African-American struggle with slavery, it
comes damn close to capturing this awful time in our country’s history. To the
filmmakers that made it their intention that the film be as rattling and hard to forget as it
is:  you should be proud.