Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God

This book is wonderful because of the strength of its main character, Janie. The story is of a girl growing into a woman and realizing, finally, that she has the right to be more than the mule of the world, that she is strong and has the right to be loved and respected for who she is, not just her beauty or usefulness to others. Her story is very sad in many ways and haunting in its direct, raw ending, but in the end Hurston's book is uplifting and beautiful in so many ways. The movie, on the other hand, while well-acted and visually attractive, does not seem to understand that it is Janie's character development, not her finding love, that is the most important part of the story--and without this development, even with the chemistry between the actors, the story feels shallow. In the novel, Janie's finding Tea Cake is heartening because it is a symptom of her growth into a woman who can lead herself and has the strength to find and believe in that sort of love. In the movie the character did not change as much as she sought to be free from being boxed in--in the film she was always the person she is as she narrates her story, just without the final independence and freedom she achieves. Though it makes sense that the movie had to move things along quickly, the slowness of the story is itself important--watching Janie move through life so quickly aids in our not getting an appropriate sense of her development as a woman. Losing Tea Cake as she does--which is haunting and well-played, as the look on his face as the drool drips down will stay with me for a long time--is not as it should be, just as the story leaves one uncertain and frustrated as to its meaning.