Marc Davis Not your typical slavery/segregation film - Beloved follows the life of Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) a runaway slave who has made it out of the South and is now living in a modest house (for that time) with her daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise) in Ohio. For some reason Sethe is haunted by a malevolent entity. It drives her two sons away but it is driven away by an old friend of Sethe's that comes along named Paul D (Danny Glover). Paul D sticks around and soon becomes Sethe's love interest. Things appear to be turning around for the troubled mother until one day a strange young woman shows up. The kind-hearted Sethe takes her in against Paul D's inclination. Shortly after, things begin to turn upside down in the household and Sethe's dark and ugly past catches up with her. I think the film is an excellent combination of a paranormal thriller and period drama. It's hard enough to create a great film in just one specific genre but combining two or more genres is that much trickier. The director, Jonatahan Demme did an excellent job at adapting Toni Morrison's novel into a full feature film. That's why I really don't understand why Beloved didn't do so well at the box office.From the cinematography to the soundtrack, to the script, and to the casting, everything was well done... (Back to the casting.) I think they nailed it with the casting - from Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Irma P. Hall (in a small role) - just about every role was match perfectly. Thandie Newton and Kimberly Elise, both little known at the time, gave excellent performances. I really think Kimberly Elise, like the film itself, is a very underrated, underused actress. She's much better than other Black actresses that seem to get all the good roles like Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan, and Regina King - yes I said it, even HALLE BERRY! It is also great seeing Oprah in a film (you guys should see The Butler), as it seems she only does parts like once a decade. Her and Danny Glover have great chemistry, and seeing them together in another slavery/segregation period piece, you just know Celie and Shug Avery are gonna pop out any minute and it's going to be The Color Purple II. ***Spoiler Alert*** My only grip is that the film moves a bit slow at times, and I felt the character Amy Denver, a white woman from Boston who stumbles upon a pregnant, injured Sethe in route to her escape from a plantation, is a bit too far-fetched. Amy nurses Sethe's blistering feet and helps Sethe reach the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, where she eventually delivers Sethe's baby. Sethe then names the child after the good Samaritan. Not that I don't believe there were Caucasians sympathetic to the black man's (or woman's) plight back then. Nor do I find it hard to believe the same Caucasians would help a black person to freedom in some way if given the opportunity, but for some reason Amy Denver just seemed so out of place and I don't think the story would have suffered any if the character had been written out. ***End Spoiler Alert*** Anyway, if you haven't seen it by now. Do yourself a favor and go rent it or buy it. UNDERRATED UNDERRATED UNDERRATED is all I can say.

wes-connors After the US Civil War, hard-working Oprah Winfrey (as Sethe) lives in the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio. During flashbacks, we will see her house is haunted by a restless spirit who likes to shake up the set. An uncommon woman, Ms. Winfrey demonstrates supernatural powers of her own when she heals the family dog. Another flashback provides information about the incident which shaped Winfrey's "Sethe" and her life – her sadistic ex-master tried to take her back to the plantation, resulting in Winfrey taking drastic measures to save her children from slavery...Presently, Winfrey lives with her teenage daughter Kimberly Elise (as Denver). Soon, they are joined by another ex-slave from the "Sweet Home" plantation – Danny Glover (as Paul D). The trio becomes a quartet following a fun visit to the carnival and a look at Winfrey squatting to urinate. Winfrey decides to take in weird, but well-dressed waif Thandie Newton (as Beloved, after an insect attack. Introducing herself like the girl from "The Exorcist" (1973), Ms. Newton turns out to be more like a baby in a woman's body. She may also hold the key to Winfrey's soul...Trying to turn Toni Morrison's deservedly acclaimed novel "Beloved" (1987) into a worthy film is an admirable task...The production looks classy, with some beautiful photographed (by Tak Fujimoto) segments; dusty smoke is piped in so some scenes don't look too pretty. "Academy Award" favorite Colleen Atwood was nominated for her costume design. Lisa Gay Hamilton is well cast as a younger Winfrey, but her characterization suffers from the non-linear editing. The strongest, most consistent performer is relative newcomer Kimberly Elise. Granted, she has a less emotionally wrought role to play, but she also plays her "Denver" beautifully and is harder to catch acting than most...This attempt was piloted by Winfrey, a major talk-show host and part-time actress who has since become an unimaginably wealthy media guru. When celebrities sin, they can be forgiven by apologizing to "Oprah" in a face-to-face interview. Winfrey the actress passes muster, here; that the film wasn't perfect shouldn't negate her opening herself up to act more often, and take criticism. What really doesn't work are the supernatural elements; they look better in the book. It might have been interesting to leave out the overtly supernatural and make "Beloved" a straight drama.****** Beloved (10/8/98) Jonathan Demme ~ Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton

BeansOnToast I have seen this film four times, and it gets better with age. Basically, it gives you an idea of what every black family went through after slavery in the U.S.: some of their relatives were dead, some were missing, and those who survived were tormented by memories of the past. The story is loosely based on the true story of a slave named Margaret Garner, and it covers several people whose lives had been intertwined on a plantation.When you see this film, be prepared to get an idea of what slavery was really like--no "Gone with the Wind" pap about loyal mammies and lovable southern belles here. It was brutal, and the film doesn't shy away from it. This is what makes this film so great: it shows how slavery dehumanized both the slaves and the slave owners, and wrecked families afterward.Most of the complaints I've heard or read about the film are (when you strip away the quibbling) because people freaked out when they saw how graphically slavery was portrayed. What did they expect?? Bottom line: The images of slavery ARE disturbing, and also completely realistic. Jonathan Demme was right not to downplay it.Danny Glover and Kimberly Elise are great, and Beah Richards (as Baby Suggs, the preacher) is incredible. I also like that they used some historic landmarks like the old Pennsylvania Turnpike (a dirt road from the 1800s, portions of which still exist) for the large road that appears in several scenes. They also used some structures from a historic nineteenth-century village, again to give it a feeling of authenticity.

md_dc Famous feminist writer, Toni Morrison, deserved to win a Pulitzer Prize for her historical novel that represents Black American's struggles with slavery and freedom.How anyone, let alone hundreds of voters here, could rate this marvelously directed & performed film a 1 is beyond me. Oprah Winfrey is the leading lady of the cast who ultimately demonstrates what is an Oscar-entitled performance.Sethe, the character Winfrey plays is one of the most complex & challenging ones that I can imagine for any actor to take upon themselves. In fact, Winfrey stayed so true to her character, in my mind, she became Sethe: a former slave mother, a million & a half miles away from a Oprah the billionaire guest show host in Chicago! Danny Glover also gave a grand performance that was equally far from any other role I've seen him play. He & Winfrey together are a fine big screen match who I hope are in movies with Pulitzer prize winning plots as thick as is this one.