Beloved has many moments of powerful beauty which more than make it worth watching, despite its 3 hour length. Some of Thandie Newton's scenes are extremely disturbing and even frightening as she expresses Beloved's obsessive, all consuming, needy love for her mother simultaneously coupled with homicidal rage at her for daring to separate them. Denver's inner self is often written on her face, saying more than a page of dialog could. Oprah as Sethe is always Oprah but somehow she shows you this woman's truth. It would be very interesting to see how this movie would have been with a different, lesser known actress in the role. Baby Sugg's sermon is a picture of the almost forgotten awareness of a state of love and freedom in the midst of a world filled with despair, loss, separation and hatred.
I have also read the book and found it to be an extremely confusing, disorientating and yet somehow compelling experience. It is written I think to recreate in the reader the way we experience life ourselves, as emotional colors, in remembered snatches, through different lenses, and without it always making sense. I would definitely read it again having seen the film. I can sense that there is much I missed in the book the first time around and just because something is difficult, does not mean it isn't worth making the effort. I would say the same thing about the film.
I have also read the book and found it to be an extremely confusing, disorientating and yet somehow compelling experience. It is written I think to recreate in the reader the way we experience life ourselves, as emotional colors, in remembered snatches, through different lenses, and without it always making sense. I would definitely read it again having seen the film. I can sense that there is much I missed in the book the first time around and just because something is difficult, does not mean it isn't worth making the effort. I would say the same thing about the film.