For Colored Girls hits the mark

Last week, we linked to a review of For Colored Girls, Tyler Perry's remake of Ntozake Shange’s play/poems under the headline "For Colored Girls misses the mark." Turns out, this is a matter of taste. Manhola Dargis in the New York Times on Friday had this to say:

There are roughly managed patches, including a rape that Mr. Perry crosscuts with an opera performance being watched by another character. The editing muddles his intentions, yet the assault, however awkwardly framed, contains an astonishing detail of the flailing victim fixing her eyes on a clock, waiting for an eternity to end. It’s a brilliant encapsulation of how life sometimes freezes in time.

As it turns out, Mr. Perry, while busily establishing his economic independence, has been finding his voice as a filmmaker. And here, working with fine performers like Ms. Elise, Anika Noni Rose, Phylicia Rashad and Kerry Washington, he sings the song the way he likes it — with force, feeling and tremendous sincerity.