For Colored Girls, Tyler Perry’s latest movie starring a constellation of African American actresses, was one of the most poignant and depressing films I’ve ever seen.
Tackling issues such as rape, abortion, domestic violence, and infanticide, the movie is based on Ntozake Shange’s 1975 choreoplay For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.
In the face of such somber themes, it may seem superficial to talk about the costumes. Spoiler alert – who can think about what the character was wearing as her babies are being thrown out the window? However, the play features chromatically differentiated women (brown, yellow, purple, red, green, blue, and orange) whose stories of “dark phases of womanhood” are seemingly disjointed yet woven together.
Costume underscores the interior geography of the characters and the journey they take throughout the movie.
The best-dressed character was Jo/Red, played by Janet Jackson, who is at her most chilling as a brittle, haughty magazine editor, a la Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada.
Red belies the passion in Jo’s life, whether it’s the red roses her husband sends as yet another apology or the red soles of her towering Christian Louboutin heels. Her elegant, architectural, mostly black dresses, are everything you might imagine a high-powered magazine editor to wear.
Anika Noni Rose’s character, Yasmine, begins the movie in bright, yellow, cheerful clothes that match her personality before transitioning to a deeper, more somber marigold as her life take a tragic turn.
Kimberly Elise’s character, Crystal, is dressed in brown. As Jo’s beleaguered assistant, Crystal, she seems more grounded of the two. But then as she deals with domestic violence and its terrible consequences, Crystal seems to lose touch with reality and the responsibility she bears in the circumstances of her life.
Only one female character, Gilda, played by Phylicia Rashad, isn’t associated with a color. But Gilda often acts as the wise woman and connective tissue holding the disparate stories together.
At its best, costumes have the ability to illuminate, inspire and inform the viewer. Oscars for best costume often go to the showiest, grandest period pieces. But For Colored Girls illustrates there is beauty and simplicity in the everyday rainbow.
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