TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM – A Review by Cynthia Flores
Calling all fans of the iconic American novelist Toni Morrison. If you have read her books and been inspired, transported, and genuinely moved by her storytelling, then this documentary is for you. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am offers an artful and intimate presentation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist and Nobel prize winner. We get to learn of her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio. We see how that upbringing where everyone mixed and lived together in the neighborhoods and schools free from segregation influenced her work. It wasn’t until she moved to Washington, DC to attend Howard University that she first saw in town “For Colored” signs on water fountains and entrances. She coyly admits to stealing a few and mailing them back to her mother in Ohio to see.
The film then follows her as an editor and writer through the ’70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room. There are intimate interviews with her peers, critics, colleagues, and friends. Friends like world-renowned photographer Anne Leibowitz, who talks about the person, Chloe Ardelia Wofford (that is Toni Morrisons’ real name) an educated, single mother of two boys, who is an editor of iconic African-American literature at a division of Random House. Who also taught at Princeton University. People like Oprah Winfrey and Walter Mosley discuss and explore race, American history, and the human condition as seen through the prism of Morrison’s own books. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative.
It’s tough to do a film about someone who writes because writing is such a solitary endeavor. There is only so much footage you can watch of a person, any person actually writing. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am dodged that bullet by knitting together her story with a rich collection of art, history, and literature. The images that go by on the screen as 88-year-old Morrison is talking about how she gets to the heart of the narrative in her work run the gamut from brutal to sublime. It’s truly a fitting backdrop for us to bask in the presence of this beloved writer.
I give Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am a B+ rating for giving us a chance to enjoy the charisma and brilliance of Toni Morrison.
Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Rated PG-13
Selig Rating B+
Running Time 1hr 59min
Documentary
Limited Release June 28th Landmarks Magnolia Theatre
Starring: Toni Morrison, Hilton Als, Oprah Winfrey
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
