love and hate battle for supremacy in a fallen land in this flawed, disjointed retelling of the novel

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2017)

There are at least three ways to take this film:
One is for the message: Yeah, this is the way it was! Don't hide it; take it in! It's not too late, America! We CAN fix this - with understanding and love.
Second, is for the production: it's really amazing what a team of women can do, and this film is proof. And its also amazing what a team led by African-Americans can do.
And finally, there is the story. Here, in my opinion, is where it falls short.
This film takes its time "setting the table." Like a guest at a feast, the viewer doesn't know what to make of the scenes. Is this an appetizer or the main course; a side dish or the pièce-de-resistance?
About one hour into watching this on Netflix, I turned to my viewing companion with the query, "When is this going to take off?" Plenty of powerful scenes but they refused to coalesce into a narrative. Come to the point, already! Much more effective, to my mind, if this material could have been cut and the story rewritten, incorporating this material either by reference or in flashback.
Part of the problem is that there's just too much material for a film of this length to handle satisfactorily. Consequently, it falls uncomfortably between two stools. It deserves to be either a multi-episode TV series or to be pared and concentrated down to one person's story.
But also it's the almost insurmountable difficulty of adapting to film a novel written with each chapter a Point of View from successive characters.
So many characters to follow., and, thanks to the actors, each and every one of them fascinating. I wanted to spend more time with them. But what the film must content us with is a sketch - a suggestive sketch, but a only sketch.
Another symptom of the need to squeeze the material down to fit the time constraints of a feature film, was the voice-overs. Necessary short cuts, no doubt, but they took me out of the film.
On the positive side, the interludes of gospel music provided some of the most satisfying moments: then the film simply soars.
Eventually, as it concentrates on the relationship between the two young men, the film picks up and gathers momentum for the shattering climax. Though here, too, it left me dissatisfied. Attempting to strike a balance between redemptive love on the one hand, and violence on the other, it pulled its punches, ending up once again on a queasy, sentimental note.