Beloved (1998): Dir: Jonathan Demme / Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Hill Harper: Powerful film with a title regarding a girl but it may also reference divine love. Flashbacks showcase brutality of a female black slave who is raped by two white students while their teacher looks on. Her husband is killed after being forced to watch. She becomes pregnant but kills the child to keep it from slavery. Years later her house is haunted by a poltergeist manifested into Beloved. An old friend stops by but he fears the spiritual presence. There is also a daughter named Denver who was delivered by a white woman upon her escape. Jonathan Demme is a suitable director after having made The Silence of the Lambs, also about a scarred past. Oprah Winfrey delivers a powerful performance full of fear, dread and hopelessness. Danny Glover plays her visitor reduced to conviction. He gets her pregnant again and offers to keep her but eventually he will discover her grim past. Kimberly Elise plays Denver, a survivor and perhaps the strongest. Thandie Newton is amazing with her awkward reflexes but the character Beloved is a spiritual wreck. She's a reincarnation yet demonic and completely unreadable. Hill Harper plays Winfrey's husband. Compelling story of gloom with muddled supernatural elements. Score: 6 ½ / 10
Review of Beloved
