Purple RainMeaningful artistic expression comes deep in the heart, after the cool and charismatic facade has been stripped away. Purple Rain is a semi-autobiographical musical starring--and featuring music by--Prince and the Revolution. It is the story of a young man called "The Kid" (Prince), whose band is one of the feature acts at a prominent rock hall in Minneapolis. A lovely young woman named Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero) catches The Kid's eye one night--despite his reflective sunglasses--and romance ensues; but The Kid struggles with his own inner demons that threaten to destroy everything he loves.
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Music is the very lifeblood of Purple Rain; the film opens with the energetic "Let's Go Crazy", establishing it as a stylish cinematic extension of the music video, and this is when the film at its most engaging. (If you aren't tapping your toes, check your pulse.) The story of Purple Rain is really built around the music rather than the other way around, and literally occupies the center stage. Almost all of the songs in Purple Rain are played from start to finish, and are rarely relegated to mere background. Purple Rain is about an up and coming musician (The Kid), who struggles with hardship before beating the odds to reach the next level; it may sound cliche, but it has the ring of truth to it. Purple Rain was filmed in and around Minneapolis, including the First Avenue nightclub where Prince got his start. The music in Purple Rain is filled with enthusiam, unresolved passion, and a need for escape from the status quo, reflecting The Kid's feelings of being doomed to repeat the mistakes of his parents, and wanting to run away and into the arms of a lover like Apollonia. The Kid comes across as detached and aloof at first, dismissing requests by his bandmates to perform one of their songs, with no better reason than petty jealousy. This same jealousy combines with the darkness in his home life when Apollonia when she confides that she's been offered a spot in a "girl band" developed by his musical rival, Morris (Morris Day); he strikes her, birthing yet another rivalry and a critical rift with his lover. His parents are a mixed couple and also both former musicians. His father (Clarence Williams III) is filled with rage, losing control and becoming violent when arguing with The Kid's mother (Olga Karlatos); when The Kid tries to reconcile them, he gets a stray slap for his troubles. The Kid is haunted by his personal trauma, which bleeds over into his music career and threatens his chances at success, infuriating the club's manager, Billy (Billy Sparks), by using the stage as a sounding board for his personal crises. The Kid is at his happiest when he is away from home, like when he takes Apollonia out on his purple Hondamatic Honda CM400A into the country, forgetting the troubles of home and Morris's attempts to muscle him out of the club. He wins Apollonia over with his musical prowess and his cool attitude--a sly, cat-like ambivalence, heightened by his iconic "disco aristocrat" persona. What really draws her to The Kid is his passion for music; when she asks if he will help her "make it" as a rock star, he shrugs and says "no"--stardom isn't the goal to The Kid, but a symptom of expressing his feelings in his art.
The Kid's music is deeply personal, speaking to key moments in the plot and filled with impassioned performances that expose his vulnerability. He performs "The Beautiful Ones" as Morris is feebly trying to seduce Apollonia into joining his band and becoming his lover (in no apparent order). Even though he is performing to a large crowd, his attention makes the music and lyrics seem to be exclusively about her. (This is revisited during his performance of "Darling Nikki", although his jealousy turns the song into an attempt to humiliate her instead of arouse her.) The pinnacle of this comes at The Kid's climactic performance of the eponymous "Purple Rain", representing the culmination of all of his emotional trauma and the chaos that has assailed him, and coming to terms with his feelings of jealousy and despair. He bears his soul in full amid the azure glow of stage lights with smoke rising from the stage, as he plays his white "Cloud" guitar, given to him by Apollonia as a symbolic gesture--a manifestation of his regret in alienating her--while letting go of his sorrow. Prince passed away in 2016, but left behind a legacy of innovative music, not least of which is his impassioned underdog story of The Kid, with music that is a beautiful combination of soulful rock and roll and youthful energy, speaking to the troubles of young adults struggling with their emotions and trying to find their place in the world.
Recommended for: Fans of a movie that highlights the early music of Prince and the romantic narrative built around it. Note: if somebody tells you to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, make sure it's the right lake before you dive in.
The Kid's music is deeply personal, speaking to key moments in the plot and filled with impassioned performances that expose his vulnerability. He performs "The Beautiful Ones" as Morris is feebly trying to seduce Apollonia into joining his band and becoming his lover (in no apparent order). Even though he is performing to a large crowd, his attention makes the music and lyrics seem to be exclusively about her. (This is revisited during his performance of "Darling Nikki", although his jealousy turns the song into an attempt to humiliate her instead of arouse her.) The pinnacle of this comes at The Kid's climactic performance of the eponymous "Purple Rain", representing the culmination of all of his emotional trauma and the chaos that has assailed him, and coming to terms with his feelings of jealousy and despair. He bears his soul in full amid the azure glow of stage lights with smoke rising from the stage, as he plays his white "Cloud" guitar, given to him by Apollonia as a symbolic gesture--a manifestation of his regret in alienating her--while letting go of his sorrow. Prince passed away in 2016, but left behind a legacy of innovative music, not least of which is his impassioned underdog story of The Kid, with music that is a beautiful combination of soulful rock and roll and youthful energy, speaking to the troubles of young adults struggling with their emotions and trying to find their place in the world.
Recommended for: Fans of a movie that highlights the early music of Prince and the romantic narrative built around it. Note: if somebody tells you to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, make sure it's the right lake before you dive in.