Taking place in the Southern United States during the early- to mid-1900s,the film follows the life of a poor African American girl,Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg),whose abuse begins when she is young.By the time she is fourteen,she has already had two children by her father (Leonard Jackson) (later discovered to be her stepfather),who takes them away from her at childbirth and forces Celie to marry a local widower whom she calls "Mister" (Danny Glover),but his name is Albert Johnson.Mister,who had his eyes on Celie's younger,more attractive sister Nettie (Akosua Busia),treats Celie like a slave,making her clean up his disorderly household and take care of his unruly children.Mister beats and rapes her often,intimidating Celie into near silence and submission.Nettie comes to live with them,and there is a brief period of happiness as the sisters spend time together and Nettie begins to teach Celie how to read.This is short-lived,however; after Nettie refuses Mister's predatory affections once too often,he kicks her out.
Mister's old flame,the jazz singer Shug Avery (Margaret Avery),for whom Mister has carried a torch for many years,comes to live with him and Celie.Delirious with sickness,Shug initially insults Celie by saying "you sure is ugly" on their first meeting,but they eventually become close friends and Shug helps Celie begin to see her worth as a human being.Shug and Celie also entertain a lesbian affair; this was more pronounced in the book,and is only hinted at in the film.Celie also finds strength in Sofia (Oprah Winfrey),who marries Mister's son Harpo (Willard E.Pugh).Sofia has also suffered abuse from the men in her family,but unlike Celie,she refuses to tolerate it.This high-spiritedness proves to be her downfall,however,as a rude remark to the town mayor's wife ends with Sofia in jail.
Nettie,meanwhile,has been living with missionaries in Africa and writing to Celie often.Unbeknownst to Celie,Mister confiscates Nettie's letters,telling Celie that she will never hear from her sister again.During a visit from Shug and her new husband,Celie and Shug discover many years' worth of Nettie's correspondence.Reconnecting with her sister and the assurance that she is still alive helps give Celie the strength to stand up to Mister,threatening his life and then leaving him permanently.
Celie opens up a haberdashery selling "one size fits all" slacks.Upon the death of her father,she learns that he was,in fact,her stepfather,and that she has inherited a house from her real father.Meanwhile,Mister's fields languish as he slips into alcohol-fueled idleness.Years of guilt finally catch up to Mister,knowing he has been a horrible person most of his life,especially to Celie.In a sudden act of kindness unknown to Celie,Mister takes all the money he has saved over the years,goes down to the immigration office,and arranges for a family reunion for Celie.The film ends when Nettie and Celie's children,Adam and Olivia (raised in Africa),are reunited with Celie at last. Taking place in the Southern United States during the early- to mid-1900s,the film follows the life of a poor African American girl,Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg),whose abuse begins when she is young.By the time she is fourteen,she has already had two children by her father (Leonard Jackson) (later discovered to be her stepfather),who takes them away from her at childbirth and forces Celie to marry a local widower whom she calls "Mister" (Danny Glover),but his name is Albert Johnson.Mister,who had his eyes on Celie's younger,more attractive sister Nettie (Akosua Busia),treats Celie like a slave,making her clean up his disorderly household and take care of his unruly children.Mister beats and rapes her often,intimidating Celie into near silence and submission.Nettie comes to live with them,and there is a brief period of happiness as the sisters spend time together and Nettie begins to teach Celie how to read.This is short-lived,however; after Nettie refuses Mister's predatory affections once too often,he kicks her out.
Mister's old flame,the jazz singer Shug Avery (Margaret Avery),for whom Mister has carried a torch for many years,comes to live with him and Celie.Delirious with sickness,Shug initially insults Celie by saying "you sure is ugly" on their first meeting,but they eventually become close friends and Shug helps Celie begin to see her worth as a human being.Shug and Celie also entertain a lesbian affair; this was more pronounced in the book,and is only hinted at in the film.Celie also finds strength in Sofia (Oprah Winfrey),who marries Mister's son Harpo (Willard E.Pugh).Sofia has also suffered abuse from the men in her family,but unlike Celie,she refuses to tolerate it.This high-spiritedness proves to be her downfall,however,as a rude remark to the town mayor's wife ends with Sofia in jail.
Nettie,meanwhile,has been living with missionaries in Africa and writing to Celie often.Unbeknownst to Celie,Mister confiscates Nettie's letters,telling Celie that she will never hear from her sister again.During a visit from Shug and her new husband,Celie and Shug discover many years' worth of Nettie's correspondence.Reconnecting with her sister and the assurance that she is still alive helps give Celie the strength to stand up to Mister,threatening his life and then leaving him permanently.
Celie opens up a haberdashery selling "one size fits all" slacks.Upon the death of her father,she learns that he was,in fact,her stepfather,and that she has inherited a house from her real father.Meanwhile,Mister's fields languish as he slips into alcohol-fueled idleness.Years of guilt finally catch up to Mister,knowing he has been a horrible person most of his life,especially to Celie.In a sudden act of kindness unknown to Celie,Mister takes all the money he has saved over the years,goes down to the immigration office,and arranges for a family reunion for Celie.The film ends when Nettie and Celie's children,Adam and Olivia (raised in Africa),are reunited with Celie at last.