I am a big Jonathon Demme fan, even going back to Handle With Care (Did anyone other than me see this film?), so I was very disappointed with this convoluted mess. Making a film from a richly loved book can be troublesome. The film feels like it came from a book, as if the director was afraid to leave out any of the details and alienating the book's legion of fans. Plus the supernatural side of the story is better left to the imagination. On screen, it comes off as ridiculous and hokey. Oprah is fine, but the title character is tremendously annoying. Stop reading here if you haven't seen the film, but she kept reminding me of those not-quite-right pets from Pet Sematary. I normally admire over the top acting, but this is more like over the top of top. Embarrassing stuff. I Have other issues:(1) what was up with that white woman who helps Oprah give birth? She was almost as annoying as Beloved;(2)What happened to the sons?;(3)Why did the makers cut to a seemingly gratuitous and graphic scene of Oprah urinating? I rewound my vcr to figure out the significance and it went over my head twice. Unless you've read the book, you'll probably find this to be an indecipherable, indulgent mess.
