For Colored Girls - Movie Review

For Colored Girls has been sensitively handled by Tyler Perry, whose earlier works on Afro-American women have been Top Movies in their own rights and it would not be fair to this talented director to label him a feminist. Yes, he can be aptly labeled as having brought the sufferings of these women in a feminist way on the screen, by highlighting their feminism against the macho-ism of the men, at whose hands they suffered. No other director would have done justice to Ntozake Shange's landmark 1975 play, revolving around the lives of two sisters, surrounded by a few women who have much to give and little to get from the male dominant society they live in.

Of the two sisters, the elder one is Tangie (Thandie Newton, star of many Top Movies), who cares two hoots for life, is a whore not by choice but by compulsion and the younger one is Nyla (Tessa Thompson), who is trying to be a teenage dance prodigy. Both the actors have given outstanding performances which are fit for Top Movies. After the death of their father, the two girls have been living with their mother (played by Whoopi Goldberg, veteran of many Top Movies), who is a religious fanatic, in an apartment situated in an old building and where all the other characters of this lovable movie reside.

There is the apartment manager (portrayed by Phylicia Rashad) who is caring and loves the sisters, taking good care of them in the absence of their mother and filling the void of loneliness in her own life. Crystal (played by Kimberly Elise, a Top Movie actor), who works as an assistant to Jo (Janet Jackson, the Top Movie star), the high profile editor of a magazine, is also leading a life full of sufferings at the hands of her boyfriend (enacted by Michael Ealy), who is a Iraq war veteran and treats her badly. Then there is Yasmine (Anika Noni Rose), dance teacher of Nyla and a kind hearted soul, who also works as an organizer for an AIDS Clinic (run by Loretta Devine). The final character in this saga of feminine apathy and silent sufferings is a Social Worker (Kerry Washington) who tries her best in helping Crystal with her two children.

The lives of these strong willed women are not simple, are full of complications but the underlying strength of their characters is steel like and they are determined to lead their lives in their own ways. This is what has been portrayed effectively by Perry. The sufferings these women face in their lives are the basis of their mutual admiration and their standing in solidarity. This is one movie that is not only a must for the women but also an eye opener for men. See it to understand the silence of the suffering feminine gender.