As we prepare for the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Backstage is breaking down this year’s film and television ensemble work for your consideration. For more voting guides and roundups, we’ve got you covered here.
Main Cast: Halle Bailey, Jon Batiste, Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, Ciara, Deon Cole, Colman Domingo, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier, Corey Hawkins, Taraji P. Henson, H.E.R., Stephen Hill, Elizabeth Marvel, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi
Casting by: Tiffany Little Canfield, Destiny Lilly, and Bernard Telsey
Directed by: Blitz Bazawule
Written by: Marcus Gardley (based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play by Marsha Norman)
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
The team behind “The Color Purple” had a big challenge on its hands: bringing the musical stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning 1982 novel (which was previously adapted into a nonmusical film) to the big screen. Fortunately, they succeeded, breathing new life into a beloved classic.
The ensemble is a mix of fresh faces and tried-and-tested actors reprising their iconic roles. All portray their characters’ brutal reality as expertly as their escapist fantasies, complete with gorgeous musical numbers. When combined, these elements make for a film that blends quiet interactions with proper showstoppers.
Set in early 20th century Georgia, “The Color Purple” unfolds over the course of decades. The story centers on Celie, a poor, abused Black woman in search of inner strength. Newcomer Phylicia Pearl Mpasi drives many of the film’s most heart-wrenching scenes as the teenage version of the protagonist, capturing Celie’s loneliness, loss, and enduring spirit.
As her younger sister, Nettie, Halle Bailey brings both stability and wide-eyed joy to the pair’s early dynamic. It makes their forced separation at the hands of Celie’s cruel husband, Mister (Colman Domingo), even more devastating. Mpasi and Bailey’s scenes are a testament to the power of female companionship.
Fantasia Barrino takes that theme and runs with it as adult Celie, joined by Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery and Danielle Brooks as Sofia. These actors invite us to sit down with their characters both individually and as a small but mighty group of women who refuse to accept the status quo.
This is Barrino’s second time playing Celie, following her 2007 turn on Broadway. She’s captivating as she charts her character’s journey from obedient figure to resilient powerhouse. The transformation is apparent in her musical performances; at first, Celie physically folds in on herself, barely whispering her lyrics, and later belts her songs to the sky, arms splayed wide. Barrino’s performance encompasses all aspects of her character—grief, rage, delight, and small acts of rebellion (like spitting in Mister’s water glass). At the end, she conveys Celie’s unbridled joy as she tap-dances in sparkly red pants on the counter of her shop.
As blues singer Shug, Henson delivers a top-notch lesson in how to build slow-burning chemistry; she’s a siren’s call incarnate when she coaxes quiet giggles and outright admiration from the beaten-down Celie. And while that relationship starts from a place of bashfulness, Celie’s friendship with Sofia, the no-nonsense wife of Mister’s son, Harpo (Corey Hawkins), begins with a door-busting bang. She’s the first person to give our heroine hope that her life could be different. Brooks seamlessly shifts between brassy and broken; it’s no wonder her 2015 Broadway performance as Sofia earned her a Tony nomination.
As Mister, Domingo gives these women (and moviegoers) a villain worth railing against. The always excellent actor delivers a nuanced performance, unraveling his character—often wordlessly—to reveal the broken man at his core. He taps into Mister’s cruelty without descending into caricature; the man is a drunken abuser who ultimately ends up fumbling and repentant. Domingo’s confidence in the role is evident every step of the way.
Rounding out the cast are David Alan Grier as Shug’s formidable father, Reverend Avery; R&B star H.E.R., making her big-screen debut as Harpo’s girlfriend, Squeak; Jon Batiste as the womanizing Grady; a devilish Elizabeth Marvel as the racist Millie; and Louis Gossett Jr. as the crotchety Ol’ Mister.
As the narrative unfolds against the back-drop of stunning natural set pieces—including massive, sun-bleached trees dripping with moss—“The Color Purple” powerfully reimagines Walker’s timeless story of sisterhood and Black female resilience.
Want more? Stay in the loop with everything you need to know this awards season right here!
