Their Eyes Were Watching God is an American Broadcasting Company television movie aired on March 6, 2005 at 9 p.m. EDT based upon Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Darnell Martin and produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions (Winfrey served as the host for the broadcast). Its teleplay was by Suzan-Lori Parks, Misan Sagay, and Bobby Smith, Jr.
Video Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)
Cast
- Halle Berry as Janie Crawford
- Michael Ealy as Tea Cake
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Joe Starks
- Nicki Micheaux as Phoebe Watson
- Lorraine Toussaint as Pearl Stone
- Ruby Dee as Nanny
- Terrence Howard as Amos Hicks
- Gabriel Casseus as Sam Watson
- Artel Kayàru as Motor Boat
- Jensen Atwood as Johnny Taylor
- Kevin Daniels as Liege Moss
- Wayne Duvall as Dr. Gordon
- Mel Winkler as Logan Killicks
- Maura Gale as Lula Moss
Maps Their Eyes Were Watching God (film)
Reception
Sharon L. Jones, an English professor at Wright State University writes that the film bears no comparison to the novel. The novel emphasizes Janie's life journey of living with others who try to help to establish identity for her; therefore, she struggles to find such an identity. However, Jones says the film leaves out many important concepts that help convey the central theme. She says that it is believed that Harpo's production focused the movie on the general idea of love more to reach a broad range of audience since most of her viewers are white females.
Virginia Heffernan of The New York Times comments on Halle Berry's performance as Janie. She states that out of all the actresses, Halle Berry excels at acting Janie's role. She pinpoints that the sexual scenes that Berry acts impacts viewers greatly to the point where they will definitely not forget the movie.
Ester Iverem, a journalist, states that the movie stands out for its Black romance and sexuality. She also mentions the chemistry seen between Halle Berry and Michael Ealy. Their acting skills as each other's lover is what makes this movie stand out beyond its natural storyline. She furthers her thoughts by stating that the romance and sexuality seen in the movie are topics that compare to the romance and sexuality described in Hurston's novel.
Awards and nominations
References
- Cotton, Trystan T. and Kimberly Springer. Stories of Oprah. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi Jackson, 2010. Print.
- Felder, Deborah G. A Bookshelf of Our Own. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2005. Print.
- Heffernan, Virginia. "NY Times Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God | Interversity.Org". Interversity.Org | A Bureaucracy-Free Zone. 4 March 2005. Web. 13 February 2011. <https://web.archive.org/web/20110726082715/http://www.interversity.org/commentary/tewwg_review>.
- Iverem, Esther. "Reviews of 'Their Eyes Were Watching God', 'Born into Brothels' and Spike Lee's 'Sucker-Free City' Plus, in Brief, 'Hitch' and 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman'". Seeing Black. 4 March 2005. Web. 13 February 2011. <https://web.archive.org/web/20110716033146/http://www.seeingblack.com/2005/x030405/eyes_movies.shtml>.
External links
- Their Eyes Were Watching God at Oprah.com
- Their Eyes Were Watching God on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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