A movie like For Colored Girls confounds me in a way that I haven't been in a very long while. I mean confound in a good way. Usually, Tyler Perry's films inspire little more than a cursory acknowledgment from me as I find most of his work simply not my taste and a little stepin fetch. Regardless of his subject matter, his films and the performances in those films seem awkwardly conformed to the lens of a camera. As a filmmaker, his films just sort of laid there on the screen unengaged by the camera.
But with For Colored Girls, an adaptation of the 1975 stage play by Ntozake Shange Perry has really shown some vigor and growth as a filmmaker.
Let's start with the performances, which have always been a strong suit of Perry's. The cast is, in a word, fantastic, anchored by some true legends and enlivened by some inspiring young actresses. It's hard to single out one above the rest because they are all so interesting in their own right. But one that really holds the film together is the Lady in Green, played beautifully by Loretta Devine. Another arrestingly strong performance is that of the young Tessa Thompson who plays a young woman dealing with a surprise pregnancy. The cast is certainly a strength of the film and unfortunately probably won't garner the brass it might deserve (but really who gives a fuck about awards).
Structurally,the film really seems reminiscent of the play. Having never seen the stage play, I can only conjecture so far, but I feel as though Perry's camera attempted to keep that sensibility. The camera lingers in a closeup while the actresses perform extended monologues, almost identical to the feel of a stage play. I didn't feel the awkwardness of fitting these huge performances that Tyler usually draws constrained to the intimate angles of a camera. Usually, his camera is successful in capturing the performance. This film's language is pure poetry and Perry does an admirable job of letting the words on the page do the talking.
Perry's direction brings the thematic content of the film very clearly. The notion that black women never get the opportunity to be children. They must be women from birth; they must weather storms others do not have to. Tessa Thompson's character arc demonstrates this theme wonderfully as the young, naive Nyla is forced to contend with life decisions she's ill-equipped to handle. She's too young to deal, so she lies and sends herself down an even more dangerous path. I found myself most drawn to this story, and I think this thread of the film turned out extremely well,Where the film runs into trouble, for me at least, is not necessarily on Perry. At times, the film's form, the way it weaves all these stories of pain, betrayal, depression, and unhappiness, is too much to take in. These characters appear to be miserable people, living miserable lives, in a miserable world. Granted, the story does offer some sense of redemption for the utterly agonizing existence of these women, but at a point it goes to far for me. I remember the instance that I became aware of my experience watching a movie, that I wasn't engrossed in this experience, but was watching something artificial play out before me. I won't ruin it, but there is a scene in which the Lady in Brown, played by Kimberly Elise, loses something very dear to her and it sends her into an utter spiral. It was at this point I thought to myself: "Really? You're going there with this?"
I've been wrestling with whether or not this criticism is valid. Perhaps all the plot points weren't a contrived amalgamation, but rather a metaphorical expression of the plight of black women. That is to say, the point of the play, and perhaps the film, is not to have any traces of believability, but serve as a representation of the issues facing black women. I can understand that and I'm fully fine with accepting that, but where is the line to be drawn between metaphorical representation and a histrionically depressing, exercise of pain and heartache. I choose to think For Colored Girls is the former.
In either case, transposing a story like this to the screen beckons the question of form. For me, I felt the awkwardness at times of rigging a delicate story like this for the screen. Yet, I think it was successful in some aspects in utilizing the camera (i.e. the close ups during those gorgeous monologues). A prudent example of this would be the dinner scene with the Lady in Yellow. The cross cutting in that scene is a really engaging element of the film and I really tip my hat off to Perry for this ambitious element.
So. For Colored Girls is certainly more than worth your time. My problem with Perry has always been his lack of engagement with the camera. I can see some growth in his work, and I can honestly say that I'm interested in what's coming up for him.... well, excluding anything with Madea or connected to it.
