MovieChat Forums > Beloved (1998) Discussion > Beah Richards shines!

Beah Richards shines!

posted 20 years ago by freakaman24
6 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie again for like the 5th time. I still don't know if I really liked the movie though. I know I have watched it alot, but I still can't say I enjoyed it. This movie is hard to enjoy, but I don't think that is the right word to use. I did Love the performances in this film and I have read comments on Oprah and Danny , but I Loved the late great Beah Richards as Baby Suggs. Every time she was onscreen I sat spellbound. She really deserved some sort of nomination for her small but pivitol role.

[–] billygurl 19 years ago

You are absolutely right. Her performance was nothing short of inspiring, she had so much passion with every word she said, I was quite moved by her. What an extraordinary talent.

[–] stangosrest 19 years ago

I saw the movie once, that was enough. It was okay, but way too long. I watched it late at night, and managed to stay awake, but it wasn't easy. They could have chopped that movie in half and made it better.

[–] omari322 19 years ago

I agree with you about Beah Richards' impact on the movie in her final film role because her Baby Suggs was the straight truth. The Academy always misses the boat on true, standout performances so knowing that it failed to recognized Ms. Richards is only proof positive of that disturbing fact. Seeing her preach in the clearing in the woods still gives me goosebumps the way she used her voice to convey the power of what she was saying. Magnificent.

[–] pianocellolove 19 years ago

Without a doubt, I absolutely agree with you. Ms. Richards is magnificent in this movie. I am just disappointed in the fact that the all knowing Academy may not have acknowledged her but then again that is nothing new for them. I was equally disappointed that she was a part of such a sorry work. I thought the texture of her tone and preaching in the woods was awesome but my goosebumps were sporatic to say the least. She made this junk of a work sound spectacular in one sentence, then suddenly her words turned to mindless ramblings the next but this was not her fault. She was merely playing a part in what was supposed to be whatever it was supposed to be to those generic 'deep' people who think they know what this creative mistake was all about. I wanted so much to keep those goosebumps but it was so hard. It is unfortunate that her final work was such a joke. Even so, I will always respect her gift. She was an amazingly respected actress.

[–] belanshar 19 years ago

This wasn't her final work. Her last acting role was on The Practice.

Also, I find it really wrong that you would say her role as Baby Shuggs was a "joke" as you put it. She really struggled through filming because she was was suffering from emphysema at the time.

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Only the good die young.

[–] nunquam 19 years ago

I agree. I've gone back to her scenes in that movie, over and over. There was something real happening in the scene in the forest, it wasn't acting. She was really capturing something true there. I remember it brought me to tears in the theatre, and it was as if I could hear my own grandmother's voice in my mind saying, "Yes, yes! Listen to her!"