A lot that is clumsy, and misses the detail and nuance of the novel (especially its violence, which Spielberg feels too scared to really get close to, along with the almost complete absence of Celie and Shug’s romance)………BUT Whoopi Goldberg delivers an all-timer performance, which manages to hold all of the film together in spite of itself, with Oprah, Glover and the rest of the cast backing her up. (Also, for all that he may flub, Spielberg is visually at the absolute top of his game too)
