Best Actress 1985: Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple

Whoopi Goldberg received her 1st oscar nomination at the age of 30 for her film debut as Celie, a downtrodden black woman who has been forced to marry a man she hates, who constantly abuses her, sent her sister away, and is now basically a servant for him. Her life stays in this vein with ocassional ways of finding happiness until she meets Shug Avery, Mister's (Her husband) old mistress who brings confidence and love into her life. Whoopi Golberg is simply wonderful in this movie. She plays Celie just right, never playing her as too soft or too acertive. She turns Celie into a loveable character, and she simply does this by immersing herself completely into Celie's body and mannerisms.Her facial expressions are perfect and she shows all sorts of emotions in the character using this tool. It's a subtle and quiet performance, and Goldber brings out everything in the part.She portrays her sorrows and her sadness of not being with her sister perfectly and builds and builds Celie's sense of strength and dignity until it all comes out in one great scene in the dining room. It's a powerful scene with great acting all around, but it's Goldberg who gives it it's magnetic, inspiring glow. She also has great chemistry with Margaret Avery, who is also quite good in her role as Shug. She makes Celie's evoloution due to Shug's presence totally believable and wonderful to watch. I love the sense of familiarity that she and Shug have later in the movie, especially in the scene when Shug explains her meaning of God to Celie. So, overall a fantastic effort from Goldberg. Although I don't quite love the performance, it's a warm and extremely emotional portrayal that is not easy to forget. She gets