Um filme de drama psicológico gótico, com direito a poltergeist, amo, e a dor da escravidão, nos flashbacks sombrios e doloridos… Uma pena não ter recebido os créditos que merecia, apesar do elogio da crítica especializada, ficou pouco no cinema e arrecadou menos ainda, e levou Oprah a depressão com o fracasso... "É perigoso amar tanto assim, o melhor é amar tudo só um pouquinho, assim, se ela partir, fugir ou for roubada, talvez ainda lhe sobre um pouco de amor." "Amor fraco não é amor"

Portions of Beloved gave chilling insight to slavery and all the things that come with it. Other parts felt like Jodie Foster in Nell. Other parts seemed to be a rabbit trail that took our eyes off Oprah's family and the central action of the story.

Fans of the book will love it but the story has never worked for me.

I remember when Oprah was promoting this film. I had already read the book for school, so I knew it wasn't something I wanted to see on film. I have mostly forgotten the book's plot at this point, but I decided to finally check out the movie. Too weird for me.

This movie is one of most disturbing, disjointed illogical movies you’ll ever watch, or not. It is not a accurate historical drama, it is not a thought provoking social just drama, it is not a love story and it is not a suspenseful horror film. It is not worth your time

This film and its source material are so disturbing and markedly non-commercial, it's amazing this film was ever made. All credit goes to Oprah, who put her name and money behind it, ensuring Beloved was created by talented people with utmost respect for the novel, and not sanitized or dumbed down. The result is a truly weird, visceral and moving piece of art unlike anything else put to film. Of course it is not as good as the book; no film could ever live up to Toni Morrison's work, but I'm glad they tried. It's a great adaptation that complements the novel nicely. If you want literary flourish, read the book, and watch the film for the excellent cinematography, costumes, and acting. It is great to see talented people in these roles, including an unforgettable turn by Thandie Newton in the title role. I'm still not sure I liked what she did with the role, but I know I'll never forget it. Of course the film is not perfect; the more internal psychological parts of the novel are lost in adaptation, while the pacing starts out slow and abruptly speeds up in the second half. But this horror/historical fiction hybrid is captivating all the way through with some truly unforgettable moments. I don't even mind the run time because it is so entrancing to watch. To me this is a very remarkable film, the kind that was an inevitable flop because it was far too intense and strange for mainstream audiences in the 1990s, but is an important piece of filmmaking nonetheless. It was ahead of its time.

Story/Screenplay: (2.5/5) It's a ghost story, but more. While it may be unique, it was also loaded with head-scratching moments. Duration/Tempo: (1/5) At 2 hours and 52 minutes, it's a very, very long movie that felt longer. Pacing was too slow in too much of the movie. Cast & Crew: (3.5/5) Not a bad cast. Danny Glover stood out, but Oprah Winfrey and Kimberly Elise were fine as well. Summary: (2/5) Dramas don't have to be this slow. Painful.

Awesome - but difficult to understand at times.

An unflinching, stylized portrayal of people haunted by history. In form and plot, it takes getting used to.

This is a sort of gothic horror tale. It was darkly beautiful and complex. I will admit to being confused at times, but the overall film is very powerful and moving. Worth seeing.

Oprah Winfrey's faithful adaptation of Toni Morrison's book of the same title depicting slavery as a vivid psychological horror is affectedly refined but powerfully acted.

Former slave adopts girl in this weird and sometimes confusing drama.

I read the book first, and this usually presents an issue. I'm guilty I guess of wanting the characters to look a little bit as the book describes them but that is minimal. My biggest issue with this movie is Beloved. The book portrays Beloved as a manipulative, character that is seductive. The movie portrays her as a slow mentally challenged ghost. I didn't like that. The way she spoke and acted as if she is retarded. She wasn't like that at all on the book. That ruined the movie for me.

Poorly acted and even more poorly directed.

Excellent supernatural thriller steeped with African American history.

This could have been much shorter, and I think it would've been better if it had been.

The 3rd worst movie I have ever experienced. What could of been one of the greatest black experience movies of the century turned into a horrible horror movie and damaged the movie careers of some of the most famous black Hollywood actors in history. This is the worst thing Oprah has ever been in and this is also true of Danny Glover. It took this director 4 years to recover from this travesty.

Challenging and complex to watch, "Beloved" is even more so when attempting to write a summary and review. Jonathan Demme's adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel is bold, intense, almost apocalyptic, harrowing, and extremely disturbing film. While the movie is essentially a surreal portrait of the haunting stigma and aching memory of a culturally-denied impact of slavery and human cruelty assigned to an entire race, it is also an encaging psychological study of maternal relationships. This movie, like it's source novel is a masterful, shocking and cogently artistic work. It seems almost impossible that a white male filmmaker created this largely experimental neo-gothic and Feminist film. It even more unbelievable that screenwriter, Richard LaGravenese, had a hand in this translation. I don't intent to dismiss LaGravense's talent. It's just that this movie operates within an entirely different "universe" compared to what one anticipates in his film scripts. These perspectives simple do not appear to connect. Though both Akosua Busia and Adam Brooks share writing credit. These two writers other efforts are equally opposed to "Beloved." Jonathan Demme's careful use of Cinematographer, Tak Fujimoto, and Film Editors, Andy Keir and Carol Littleton, work fuses the movie into something altogether different from what an audience might expect. This movie is more connected to William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" than any other film. Oprah Winfrey's performance in this movie has been tragically overlooked. She is every bit as effective here as Meryl Streep has ever been in any of her many films. Danny Glover and Thandie Newton are exceptional as well. But this is Winfrey's film. It is an understatement to write that this sadly over-looked and often forgotten film sheds a grim light on the most horrific aspects of American history. It also pulls no punches in communicating that these unforgivable atrocities continue to impact the African-American Community today. "Beloved" was largely ignored upon it's release. I've never really been sure why. Perhaps the surreal and/or metaphorical use of "horror" was confusing to people. Though this doesn't really make sense. The use of "horror" makes perfect creative sense. I suspect the film's failure had more to do with the fact that this grim societal and cultural study was just too dark for most to take. It is every bit as powerful as "12 Years a Slave" -- in fact, unlike Steve McQueen's film, the metaphor of "horror" allows for a brief escape from the true horrors that the characters must face and move through. McQueen's movie offered no break from reality. I remain firm in my stance that this is one of the most important films to come out of the 1990's. It is tragic to me that it continues to be ignored. If you have never seen it -- seek it out. Don't let the running time scare you. This is a fast-paced and encaging film. If you have seen it, but it didn't move you. See it again. This is an important film. Criterion, can you hear me?

Beloved is an incredible films. It is a slave who is visited by the spirit of her deceased daughter. Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey give amazing performances. The screenplay is well written. Jonathan Demme did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. Beloved is a must see.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this a full five stars is that it's 2 and 1/2 hour run time might be a little wearying. I thought that a little extra trimming in the editing room could have helped this film's chances at the box office. But besides that, this is one of the best films about demons (both physical and personal) since "The Exorcist."