The film suffers from the same weaknesses as "Beloved" Someone murders the film on the cutting floor. Parts of the film which should have been much shorter, as they were only marginally relevant to the story, were given too much time, while other sections which required more time were cut too short to have an impact, i.e. the boy being bitten by the rabid dog, which by the way, just appears in the film without reason or rhyme, leaving the audience to try to figure out what was happening.<br /><br />Next, the scene where Janie kills her lover was lost because the camera was not on the scene. How wonderful it would have been to see the anguish of a woman in love, who was forced to kill her lover in self defense. That is the kind of acting piece that actors thrive on. It was completely blown off.<br /><br />Someone with knowledge of how important cutting is to creating a good film is required. Oprah should give up working with film and continue with her day show. There is no one who is good at everything.