Taglines: The past has a life of its own.
Beloved movie storyline. Sethe is a former slave living on the outskirts of Cincinnati shortly after the Civil War. An angry poltergeist terrorizes Sethe and her three children, causing her two sons to run away forever. Eight years later, Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) lives alone with her daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise).
Paul D. (Danny Glover), an old friend from Sweet Home, the plantation Sethe had escaped from years earlier, finds Sethe’s home, where he drives off the angry spirit. Afterwards, Paul D. proposes that he should stay and Sethe responds favorably. Shortly after Paul D. moves in, a clean, mentally handicapped young woman (Thandie Newton) named Beloved stumbles into Sethe’s yard and also stays with them.
Denver is initially happy to have Beloved around, but learns that she is Sethe’s reincarnated daughter. Nonetheless, she chooses not to divulge Beloved’s origins to Sethe. One night, Beloved, aware that Paul D. dislikes her, immobilizes him with a spell and proceeds to assault him sexually. Paul D. resolves to tell Sethe what happened, but instead tells what has happened to a co-worker, Stamp Paid (Albert Hall). Stamp Paid, who has known Sethe for many years, pulls a newspaper clipping featuring Sethe and tells her story to the illiterate Paul D.
Years ago, Sethe was raped by the nephews of Schoolteacher, the owner of Sweet Home. She complained to Mrs. Garner, Schoolteacher’s sister-in-law, who confronted him. In retaliation, Schoolteacher and his nephews whip Sethe. Heavily pregnant with her fourth child, Sethe planned to escape. Her other children were sent off earlier to live with Baby Suggs, Sethe’s mother-in-law, but Sethe stayed behind to look for her husband, Halle (Hill Harper) Sethe was assaulted while searching for him in the barn. The Schoolteacher’s nephews held her down, raped her and forcibly took her breast milk.
When Halle failed to comply, Sethe ran off alone. She crossed paths with Amy Denver, a white girl who treated Sethe’s injuries and delivered Sethe’s child, whom Sethe named Denver after Amy. Sethe eventually reached Baby Suggs’ home, but her initial happiness was short-lived when Schoolteacher came to claim Sethe and her children. In desperation, Sethe slits her older daughter’s throat, and attempts to kill her other children. Stamp Paid manages to stop her and the disgusted Schoolteacher departs.
Beloved is a 1998 American horror-drama film[2] based on Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel of the same name, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton. The plot centers on a former slave after the American Civil War, her haunting by a poltergeist, and the visitation of her reincarnated daughter whom she murdered out of desperation to save her from a slave owner. Despite being a box office bomb,[3] Beloved received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design for Colleen Atwood, and both Danny Glover and Kimberly Elise received praise for their performances.
Beloved (1998)
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Albert Hall, Jude Ciccolella, Brian Hooks
Screenplay by: Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks
Production Design by: Kristi Zea
Cinematography by: Tak Fujimoto
Film Editing by: Andy Keir, Carol Littleton
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Karen O’Hara
Art Direction by: Tim Galvin
Music by: Rachel Portman
MPAA Rating: R for violent images, sexuality and nudity.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: October 16, 1998
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