Based on the novel by Toni Morrison Oprah Winfrey has said Beloved is her Schindler's List. Indeed, she struggled for eight years to bring the elliptical Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the big screen. To his credit, Jonathan Demme has remained faithful to Morrison's harrowing but genius novel, but perhaps because of his literal adaptation, the film is not nearly as powerful as the book. Though she's a free woman, she's still held captive by her past. Just as Denver begins to accept Paul D, a young woman who grunts, groans and drools appears and becomes part of the household.
Newton gives an outstanding, haunting performance likely to be remembered at Oscar time.