Beloved

Plot synopsis:
The story, set shortly after the Civil War, revolves around Sethe, a former slave living on the outskirts of Cincinnati. When the film begins, an angry poltergeist is terrorizing Sethe and her three children. After Sethe temporarily soothes the angry spirit, her two sons run away from home, never to return.Ten years later, Sethe (Oprah Winfrey), who by this time lives alone with her daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise), runs into Paul D. (Danny Glover) an old friend from Sweet Home, the plantation Sethe escaped from many years earlier. She invites him into the house where he encounters the angry spirit head-on. Paul D. stands his ground with the spirit, driving it off. After everything in the house calms down, Paul D. and Sethe, from a mixture of unexpressed emotions and the equal share of a painful past, have passionate sex in her bedroom. After Sethe invites him to stay for a while, he heartily agrees.
Shortly after Paul D. moves in, a young woman (Thandie Newton) stumbles into Sethe's yard, falling into a deep sleep and loudly snoring beneath a tree. She is clean and well groomed, dressed in black silk dress and hat. Sethe and Denver take an immediate liking to the mysterious stranger, bringing her into the house and placing her in bed. Paul D. on the other hand feels suspicious; he wonders how someone who travelled such a long way could be so clean or have such soft well-maintained feet.When the visitor awakes, she demands food in a voice that is croaky with disuse. When the women ask her name, she spells it out for them--Beloved.Denver, who has experienced social isolation as the result of the goings on in the house, is especially happy to have Beloved around, spending many hours playing and talking with the young woman. One night, Beloved reveals her otherwordly origins. Denver, who immediately realizes the import of Beloved's confession, asks her never to tell Sethe who she really is. Beloved nastily informs her that she came to the house to see Sethe, not her, and that Denver is never to tell her what to do. However, Beloved does apologize to Denver once she realizes that she has hurt her feelings and the two young women quickly make up.Shortly after, Beloved, sensing that Paul D. dislikes her, casts a spell on him that renders him powerless and sexually assaults him. Paul D. resolves to tell Sethe about what happened only to change his mind and ask Sethe to have a baby with him. Sethe, despite misgivings about her age, eagerly accepts his proposal.Paul D. then tells a co-worker, Stamp Paid (Albert Hall) about his plans. Stamp Paid, who has known Sethe for many years, pulls an old newspaper clipping about Sethe out of his pocket. Paul D., who can't read, then asks Stamp Paid to tell him the story behind the clipping.During a flashback, it is revealed that Sethe had run away from Sweet Home after a particularly brutal beating. (Sethe had been sexually assaulted at the instigation of Schoolteacher, the owner of Sweet Home, by several of the farm hands. She complained to Mrs. Garner, Schoolteacher's wife, who confronted him about what happened. Schoolteacher then ordered the field hands to whip her savagely, leaving a massive tree-like scar imprinted on her back.)) Heavily pregnant with her fourth child, Sethe arranges to have her three older children sent ahead to Cincinnati to live with their paternal grandmother, Baby Suggs (Beah Richards). After the children are gone, Sethe plans to slip off in the night with her husband where they will make their way to the Ohio River, rendevous with Stamp Paid, and cross into Ohio.When her husband fails to show, Sethe runs off alone. She then crosses path with Amy Denver, a kind white woman who attends to Sethe's numerous injuries and delivers Sethe's child. She promises to name the baby Denver before Amy helps her cross the river. After arriving in Ohio, Sethe meets up with Stamp Paid, who delivers her to Baby Suggs' house. Although she is dismayed to discover that her husband never made it to his mother's house, she is overjoyed to be reunited with her children.However, her happiness is short-lived. Slaves catchers are tipped off to the fact that Sethe is living with Baby Suggs. They come to the house to arrest Sethe, in a attempt to drag all of them back into the horrors of slavery. Sethe, desperate to prevent her children from reliving her own past, murders her older daughter by slitting her throat with a saw. She subsequently knocks her sons unconscious and nearly kills Denver by swinging her through the air by her ankles. (Stamp Paid manages to catch the baby before her head strikes the ground.)Paul D., horrified by the revelation and suddenly understanding the origin of the poltergeist, confronts Sethe. Sethe unapologetically justifies her actions saying that the baby was better off dead than enslaved. Paul D. departs shortly thereafter, something that doesn't upset Sethe or the other women all that much.After Paul D. leaves, Sethe, while sitting in front of a warm fireplace with Denver and Beloved, hears Beloved hum a familiar melody. She recognizes the song, as it is one she sang only to her children. Beloved tells her she has always known the song. At this point, Sethe realizes that Beloved is the re-incarnation of her dead daughter. Feeling a mix of elation and guilt, Sethe spends all her money on elaborate gifts for her daughters. After all the money is spent, however, Beloved demands more gifts, having increasingly destructive tantrums when she realizes that they will no longer be forthcoming.Several months later, Beloved's malevolent presence causes living conditions in the house to deteriorate. The women live in complete squalor. Sethe has had a complete nervous breakdown, losing her job in the process. Consequently, there is little food to eat. Beloved, who has taken to walking around nude, is noticeably pregnant from her encounter with Paul D. Denver even more ashamed than she had been before almost completely withdraws from Sethe and Beloved, who have shunned her completely. However, with the spiritual manifestation and inspiration of her grandmother, Baby Suggs, Denver summons the strength to leave the house at last and seek employment, in order to save her mother and to somehow calm Beloved.She seeks out her previous mentor, Lady Jones, whose school she left when a young boy questioned Denver about her mother's violent act. Although Lady Jones is unable to pay her for any domestic duties, she sees Denver off with a basket of food. When she later tells everyone at church of Sethe's predicament, baskets and plates of food begin appearing at 124.Denver also decides to travel to the Bodwins home, which belongs to the white related pair of abolitionists who gave Baby Suggs 124 to live in, and also saved Sethe from being hung due to her crime. She appeals to Janey Wagon, who remembers Baby Suggs and takes pity on Denver, offering her a night shift that would allow her to take care of her mother during the daytime. Although Denver does not mention that Beloved is the main source of her mother's dilemma, Janey's suspicions are further heightened by Denver's odd behavior, and she discusses the problem with the local churchladies. After realizing that Beloved is Sethe's murdered daughter, they decide on a plan of action. While some believe Sethe had it coming to her, Ella, the one woman who helped bring Sethe to 124 along with Stamp Paid and witnessed Sethe's murder of her children along with him, disagrees. Although Sethe's crime alienated her along with the other churchladies, she believes something from such a terrible past cannot be allowed to interfere with the future, nor does it have the right to destroy its own mother. With this in mind, they march to 124, in hopes of exorcising the "demon" from Sethe's home.Meanwhile, Denver sits quietly at 124, waiting for Mr. Bodwin to pick her up for her new job. Inside, Sethe chips away frantically at a block of ice, her mind further deteriorating as Beloved continues to dominate the household. When Denver informs her that she is leaving, Sethe hears nothing and continues to chip away at the ice. When Denver goes and sits down on the porch outside again, she notices a large group of women slowly approaching 124.When Ella and the churchladies arrive at 124, they survey the home from outside its gate, as if determining what exactly lies within it. Suddenly, they begin to wail, sing hymns, and utter prayers out loud, hoping to bring the house some sort of peace.
Inside, Sethe and Beloved hear the churchladies and after staring out of the window, Sethe begins to exit the house, but not before placing the ice pick into the sleeve of her dress. She grabs Beloved, who is dragging an old quilt along with her, and opens the door.Upon seeing Beloved's round belly, thick and unkempt hair, and shining, smiling face, they begin to pray and wail increasingly. As they continue to do so, it seems to have somewhat of a positive effect on Sethe, as she begins to slowly come back to reality.However, Mr. Bodwin arrives for Denver just as this is all occurring. Although, he is confused by everthing, he cannot tear his eyes away from Beloved's eccentric form. But as Sethe's eyes lock on Mr. Bodwin, it causes an opposite reaction. Instead of seeing Mr. Bodwin, who she already doesn't know, she notices his white attire, hat, and mustache, and instantly recollects Schoolteacher, the main source of her traumatic life and the horrifying events that followed. Without warning, she grabs the concealed ice pick and sprints towards "Schoolteacher," attempting to kill him. As Sethe runs towards the women and Mr. Bodwin, Beloved begins to scream loudly, as she remembers how her mother "left" her before and believes she is trying to do so again.Denver races after Sethe, trying to stop her from killing Mr. Bodwin.The churchladies, believing Sethe has snapped and is trying to attack them, swarm around Sethe and hold her down, in order to pray and calm her spirit.Mr. Bodwin, oblivious to everything but Beloved, continues to stare at her.Beloved's screaming rises to a fever pitch and in some way succumbing to the "loss" of her mother yet again, she disappears.As the churchladies hold on to and pray over Sethe, Denver rises and looks towards the porch.
She sees nothing but an old quilt lying in front of an open door.Some months later, Paul D bumps into Denver at the marketplace. He notices that she has made quite a transformation: she speaks with confidence, maturity, and sincerity, and when Paul D offers her his opinion, she refuses it, stating that she "has her own." She tells him she has continued to work for the Bodwins and under the tutelage of Ms. Bodwin, may become a student at Oberlin College. When Paul D asks about Sethe, Denver expresses her worry over her mother, as she hasn't left her room or bed since the day Beloved "left." She soon departs, but she tells him that he can visit her mother, but to be careful of how he speaks to her.Later at 124, Paul D arrives to find Sethe lying in her room. She is clearly suffering from a deep malaise, caused by Beloved's departure. Paul D assures Sethe that he will now take care of her, along with Denver. Sethe doesn't see the point, as Beloved is gone and she was her "best thing." Paul D disagrees, telling Sethe that she, in fact, is her own best thing.

Tags: cruelty, murder, violence, haunting, flashback, romantic

Review:
What I remember most is Baby Suggs' speech at the rock, which the film has divided into three segments.I projected Beloved for the college theater and I have to say it was long and arduous, especially if you haven't read the novel.
I read a lot of comments talking about the ghost in Beloved, but the ghost is more of a catalyst for looking into the characters than the star of the film.I admired the time put in most.
It just seemed like Demme and Tak Fujimoto, and the lighting designer as well, gave the actors the time they needed to act and sink into things: unlike traditional MTV-editing, some scenes were comprised of only one shot, usually tracking, as Paul D and Sethe in the cornfield.
(She somehow becomes more sexual by the end of the film when she sees Paul D.)  Thandie Newton is incredibly freaky and disgusting as Beloved with the exception of that ONE long gaze she gives Danny Glover that night, seduction, perfect symmetry.
The Ohio/Kentucky background takes one's breath away and the movie really does grip its viewer during key scenesHowever, Morrison's non-linear style did not translate as well on the big screen and the flashbacks are truly confusing at points.
Of course Beloved (the movie) will be long, and of course it will be emotionally draining and even confusing - the book was!
Thandie Newton was simply amazing; I am glad I watched the film if for nothing else than the chance to see her performance (which, to be honest, has helped a key facet of the book make sense for me).
But if you're looking for a magnificently acted and gorgeously produced film, see this movie the first chance you get.
The movie begins with a woman named Sethe (Oprah Winfrey), a former slave living in 1800s Cincinatti, where an unseen presence is tearing apart her house, throwing things against the walls, and injuring her dog.
The story itself is an interesting one at that, and after seeing this I'm tempted to go read the novel (which I hear the film is adapted to very closely).
Character development is rampant in the film, and each of the characters mature in a different way throughout the course of the movie, and makes for some very interesting viewing as each of them grow in different ways.Performances are amazing from everyone involved.
I'd never seen Oprah Winfrey act, I'd just seen her television talk-show a few times, but she proves in this film that she can (and very well too).
Very nice cinematography is present too, and there are tons of symbolic images throughout the film that are placed nicely in the mix, along with a lot of shots of nature and wildlife.Overall, "Beloved" is an amazing movie, and the people who are rating this as a '1/10' must have not seen very many movies, because this film is so far from a '1' that it's not even funny.
It's a great approach to cinematography that pays off an infinite number of times, from the first major shot, of Sethe and Paul D reuniting (as Winfrey and Glover look at each other, they look not just into the camera, but directly into OUR eyes), to the last major shot, Jason Robards (God love him) staring in horror at a most unusual scene in front of Sethe's home.This film is no "The Color Purple", with Welles-influenced camera angles and sacchirine-induced uplift.
Highlighted sequences include two truly remarkable sermons in the woods by Baby Suggs (Beah Richards--Oscar-nominated in '68 for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"), a horrifying opening which features the most gruesome use of animatronics to date, and the notorious flashback which explain what has haunted Sethe all these years, and who Beloved really is.I compare this film with "The Thin Red Line".
I think this whole slave movie thing going on is getting boring but when they are made with such power and great directing and acting, I praise God for it!
Famous feminist writer, Toni Morrison, deserved to win a Pulitzer Prize for her historical novel that represents Black American's struggles with slavery and freedom.How anyone, let alone hundreds of voters here, could rate this marvelously directed & performed film a 1 is beyond me.
Oprah Winfrey is the leading lady of the cast who ultimately demonstrates what is an Oscar-entitled performance.Sethe, the character Winfrey plays is one of the most complex & challenging ones that I can imagine for any actor to take upon themselves.
In fact, Winfrey stayed so true to her character, in my mind, she became Sethe: a former slave mother, a million & a half miles away from a Oprah the billionaire guest show host in Chicago!
Love It or Hate It. After reading Beloved at least 6 or 7 times, needless to say I was thrilled when I learned it was going to be filmed.
I saw this amazing film at the theatre and was skeptical going in due to Oprah's campaigning for it so heavily but was blown away regardless--after watching it again I understand her pleas.
I have not experienced slavery(although I am African American) but only the results of slavery - mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and economically--The film starts out with the reunion of Sethe and Paul D-(who both did time(as in prison) on Sweet Home)--the haunting of the home that Sethe occupies with her daughter Denver--this is similar to haunting women experience when they have had an abortion --you never get over it and even though I understood Sethe's need to destroy her children rather than have them experience slavery I just could not do it--I would rather inflict something on myself to prevent the ability to have any more children.
Baby Sugg's sermon is a picture of the almost forgotten awareness of a state of love and freedom in the midst of a world filled with despair, loss, separation and hatred.I have also read the book and found it to be an extremely confusing, disorientating and yet somehow compelling experience.
Not only is this movie slow, boring, stupid, and a waste of time, as one theater goer stated loudly on the way out, "That is one weird a-- movie!" I've never read the book, and for fear that it is anything like the movie, I never will!!
To the Academy's credit, they only allowed a nomination to this film for costume design, clearly a statement that No, they did not forget about Oprah or Beloved.
I've read and seen several reviews of this movie now that heaped lavish praise on the acting, the story, the direction, the music, the "important social themes," Oprah's heroic quest to have the film made, etc, while warning that viewers who haven't read the novel "might be a bit confused in places." What a cop out!
This one, however, falls flat: the plot just wanders along from episode to confusing episode (with frequent and annoying use of extended fade-outs).Worse, despite all the horrifying things that happen to them, the movie's characters don't generate much sympathy.
THREE HOURS (that felt like twelve hours) of my life that I'll never get back.I went into this movie with an open mind, all I knew about it was that it starred Oprah, so it must be a "Chick Flick", but that's all I knew.
So they got out their cauldron and started concocting:  Shocking scenes, all-star cast, confusing as hell, Oprah as the lead role for political correctness, eye of newt (okay, no newts were harmed in the filming).
The highlights of the story are so few and far between, it doesn't really matter anyway.It seems like this film was made only for the enjoyment of Oprah and her fans.
After wasting three hours staring at Oprah (the star) making mundane stabs at receiving an Oscar, and Jonathan Demme (the director) going way overboard in trying to grab his, you'll just be happy the "STOP" button on your VCR hasn't disappeared, and you can actually use your thumb to press it and rip this video out of your once uncorrupted VCR..
After watching this movie I have become biased to works involving Oprah Winfrey..
I love Toni Morrison and had not had the time to read this one yet and figured that the move would give me the catalyst to read the book.All I can say is that I hated this movie.
After having read the novel by Toni Morrison, this film was extremely disappointing.
In TIME magazine, Oprah Winfrey said that she wanted Beloved to be her Schindler's List.
For example, the central story of Sethe's haunting by the ghost of her daughter, Beloved, is puzzling and at times ludicrous when portrayed so literally.
I neither read the book nor knew anything about it ahead of time, so my expectations were wide open.I'm not going to recount all the prior comments about how difficult it was to follow - although I enjoyed a mental challenge for once in a movie - and the tremendous acting by the actress who played Denver.
The reason Beloved can lift the rocking chair over her head is to symbolize her connection with her mother - her maternal link is what gives her "strength" and "life." Also, when Sethe becomes ill, and Denver is forced to look for work/food, the rocking chair is in the forefront of the scene when she finds a food offering on the tree stump.
Our party of four went to see this movie, and we all came away  thoroughly confused.Acting and photography were very good, but film was too long.We were debating if we wanted to see the movie Thursday or Friday.
I normally like dramas very much, but this was the poorest showing I have ever seen, and it's really disappointing coming from someone like Oprah Winfrey whom I admired quite a bit before seeing the film.
This movie features a very disturbing story and standout performances, especially from Thandie Newton.
A part of what made this film special to me was the appreciation of the work of Toni Morrisson.Although the main idea of the work is the visitation of a ghost of a child of the main character,there are a number of important sub plots filling the movie with much appreciated drama.Ms.Morrisson's characters force you to focus on them not merely as tragic figures but as ordinary people responding to difficult situations in other than what might be acceptable fashion..
audiences of both films either love or hate them for what they are: unsettling art films.for the people who have watched Beloved they will know that certain scenes would grow onto a viewer depending on the viewer's personality.
people who will distance themselves from such a scene will turn away from the movie upset and disappointed.Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, and the wonderful Beah Richards give excellent performances, and Rachel Portman's score gives the film just what it needs:  a perfect balance between a ghost story and an emotional trip.
I haven't read the book, but I still do not understand all of the complaints about this movie being too confusing.
While certain scenes would be merely confusing to those who have not read the book, Beloved captures the essence and spirit of Morrison's work.
Of course the character development is less complete in the movie, but the acting, especially that of Denver (Kimberly Elise) and Beloved (Thandie Newton) is wonderful.
However, Beloved is ultimately a successful interpretation of Morrison's wonderful novel; read the book to understand the movie fully..
Plus, I think that despite the probable intent of the movie (and presumably the book) of showing how slavery (at its worst) treated human beings as animals, Sethe's character simply illustrated the animal nature unaffected by any shred of human compassion or sensitivity.
I guess Beloved is a classic book, but the adaptation is unwatchable.Oprah and Danny Glover are obviously talented as actors, but how did the director think people would want to watch this?
Let's start with the obvious: Beloved is a difficult novel, one that takes at least three readings to be fully appreciated, and one that I seriously doubted could be made into a good film.
But then Jonathan Demme has made brilliant films before and he was obviously the right choice of director for this production.Beloved (the movie) is lavish, colorful, and intriguing.
In fact, this film is about as faithful to a novel as any I have ever seen: a few important scenes are left out, but one can hardly blame Demme considering how long that would have made an already lengthy movie.But what really makes Beloved click is the atmosphere that Demme creates through his camera angles, color schemes (which are faithful to Morrison's), and attention to detail.
But what Demme and Winfrey do is give the story over to the women, and in some ways, I think that it is rightfully theirs.Now some will say that the movie is too convoluted, and too intense, for the average audience.
Most of the time, people fail at transferring any part of a book to a movie in a well-done fashion.
In some ways it was great to see how true the film was to the source material, often capturing the powerful emotions and the horrific effects slavery can have on African-Americans at the time.
However, because it is so faithful it makes the film almost 3 hours long so it does drag at points.Thandie Newton's portrayal of Beloved is rightly weird and disturbing, whilst Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover were very convincing for me as Sethe and Paul D respectively.
Based on the book by Toni Morrison, in which a slave is visited by the spirit of her deceased daughter.I love that the cover of the DVD proudly says "from the director of Silence of the Lambs", because these two movies have so much in common.
Another flashback provides information about the incident which shaped Winfrey's "Sethe" and her life – her sadistic ex-master tried to take her back to the plantation, resulting in Winfrey taking drastic measures to save her children from slavery...Presently, Winfrey lives with her teenage daughter Kimberly Elise (as Denver).
It might have been interesting to leave out the overtly supernatural and make "Beloved" a straight drama.****** Beloved (10/8/98) Jonathan Demme ~ Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton.
When she is reborn from the river, she stumbles to 124 Bluestone Road, the house in which the majority of the movie and novel take place, and back into the lives of Sethe and Denver, the daughter that barely escaped the violence of her own mother's hands.The problem with the performance is that, while it's true that Beloved was killed when she was two years old, and has not matured a day since then except physically, she does not act like a two-year-old child.
Anytime Oprah decides to venture into the movie world , she seems to like playing these type of characters ; you know a women facing hardship , blah , blah .
Every white person in this movie looks and acts like either a southern slaveholder or a village idiot (yes, Oprah, I noticed the subtle insertion of only white performers at the Black Fair.
Beloved was a powerful movie.
Although extremely long, the acting of Thandie Newton and Kimberly Elise(Sethe's two daughters) made the movie worth watching.
The characters in the movie did an excellent job because they're just like the people in the book.
I have not read the book but I think but I will be seeing this movie for the second time..
Oprah Winfrey can act and in Beloved she displays a range unlike anything I have seen her in including The Color Purple.
If you haven't read the book, it will take more than one 3 hour viewing to understand what is going on in the first half of the film.
I think the film is amazing, intelligent and emotive, and does justice to Toni Morrison's incredible novel (one of the best I have ever read).
However, I can understand why some people are confused; I think the film is easier to grasp if you read the book.
I think the actors are all amazing, and the film is definitely worth watching- especially if you are willing to read the book x..
Well I think a damn good movie was made and the people who didn't like it just didn't understand.
Oprah is awesome as Sethe, an escaped slave, who has to come to grip with a violent past, and an aweful, desperate act of her own-she kills one of her own children to save her from a life of slavery.It also focuses on her daughter, played by Kimberly Elise, and how she has to deal with her mother sliding away into madness.Danny Glover plays Paul D Garner, an old friend of Sethe's who comes back into her life at a critical time.Thandie Newton plays Beloved, a strange young woman who wanders into their lives and turns everything upside down!
Is this young woman Sethe's deceased daughter?This movie is thought-provoking, brutal and complete wonderful!It's one of the best ghost stories I've ever seen and is also a great coming of age tale!.
If you like to come off of a film feeling mind-raped and at a loss of words, Beloved is for you..
Beloved (1998): Dir: Jonathan Demme / Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Hill Harper: Powerful film with a title regarding a girl but it may also reference divine love.
Not your typical slavery/segregation film - Beloved follows the life of Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) a runaway slave who has made it out of the South and is now living in a modest house (for that time) with her daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise) in Ohio.
The director, Jonatahan Demme did an excellent job at adapting Toni Morrison's novel into a full feature film.
(Back to the casting.) I think they nailed it with the casting - from Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Irma P.