Colman Domingo plays Albert "Mister" Johnson in this new take on Alice Walker's classic novel. The character is not kind - especially to his wife. However, Domingo looks at him through a different lens.
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"For this version of 'The Color Purple,' you need to always know that there's some possibility of good in Mister. We wanted to look at the arc of toxic masculinity," Domingo said. "We all want to look at vulnerability, of moments where, you know, where he's trying to touch on something, of the possibility - he wants to be good. He doesn't know how."
Corey Hawkins plays his son, Harpo, and says their director, Blitz Bazawule, has breathed new life into this much-loved story.
"You're talking about Blitz Bazawule's vision. For this film, you're talking about the evolution of this dream that Alice Walker put together called 'The Color Purple.' Because it's not just this thing that exists in time. It's a very fluid thing," said Hawkins. "And I think sometimes when we think about remakes, quote unquote, we question why? Why do you remake a film? This isn't a remake. This is a reimagining."
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"It's been my style of filmmaking, which is immersive versus voyeuristic, right? My goal is always to put the audience in a familiar seat," said Bazawule. "As a director, you just go, 'This is an abundance of riches.' I mean, there's no way I can point the camera and not get masterful performances."
"The Color Purple" is rated PG-13. It's in theaters now.