Beloved

Incredibly, Jonathan Demme's devastating adaptation of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel only received one Academy Award nomination--for Costume Design--despite performances by Oprah Winfrey and Thandie Newton that were certainly worthy of Oscar consideration. This, coupled with the film's confoundingly dismal box office showing makes Beloved perhaps this year's most unjustly snubbed movie and ripe for discovery on video. Winfrey commands the screen as Sethe, a former slave whose ramshackle house is home to a malevolent ghost that is less evil than it is "just sad." The spirit manifests itself as Beloved (Newton), a wild child who is the ghost of Sethe's deceased daughter, and a haunting reminder of an unspeakable act from Sethe's past. Unlike Schindler's List, which depicted the horrors of the Holocaust with a "you-are-there" immediacy, the equally harrowing Beloved is more a memory film that indelibly and wrenchingly depicts slavery's brutal and tragic legacy. The peerless ensemble also includes Danny Glover as Paul D, who knew Sethe during her slave days and offers her a new life, Kimberly Elise as Sethe's daughter, Denver, who is breaking under the strain of living in isolation from the community, and venerable Beah Richards (who set Spencer Tracy straight in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner) as Baby Suggs, Sethe's spirited mother-in-law who is seen in flashback. The film's daunting length lends itself more to video, allowing viewers to watch at their own pace. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)