Now Reading
NAPPILY EVER AFTER: An Exploration Of Beauty That’s Shallow & Judgmental

NAPPILY EVER AFTER: An Exploration Of Beauty That’s Shallow & Judgmental

NAPPILY EVER AFTER: An Exploration of Beauty That’s Shallow and Often Judgmental

Haifaa al-Mansour’s Nappily Ever After, based on a novel of the same name by Trisha R. Thomas, chronicles Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan) and her journey from the pursuit of superficial perfection to a search for emotional honesty and self-love.

Nappily Ever After uses Violet’s relationship with her hair to connect to her relationship with femininity, presentation, and authenticity. It begins from a young age, as we see in flashbacks that begin in Atlanta 1993, with chapters separated by descriptions of the state of Violet’s hair (“Straightened”, “Weave”, “Blonde”, etc.). She begins, as far back as childhood, with her hair constantly straightened, put together, under control.

She believes her buttoned-up beauty, behavior, and career success makes her the perfect woman, and most importantly thinks that will be enough to earn a proposal from her almost-doctor boyfriend Clint (Ricky Whittle – distractingly handsome), which never comes. After a series of emotional catastrophes (and changes in the state of her hair, of course), Violet shaves her head, which sends her on a path of discovery.

Despite the film’s strong performances, its themes feel condescending and judgmental. Violet feels like an archetype meant to represent women trapped by society’s expectations of her, not a fully formed character, and Nappily Ever After feels like a morality tale that holds the viewer’s hand at every turn, stating and overstating its intended message until its meaning feels empty.

“I’ve worked so hard to be everything he wanted.”

Nappily Ever After doesn’t dig as deeply as it could, and, this may be a genre convention more than anything else, never allows itself to get ugly. Possibly the only exception is an impressive single take shot of Lathan, distraught, shaving her head at her lowest emotional point. Violet’s emotional explanation to her mother at the end of the film, in general – Lathan, grounds this film in a level of sincerity that would be lost without her.

NAPPILY EVER AFTER: An Exploration of Beauty That’s Shallow and Often Judgmental
source: Netflix

The marks of adaptation, in general, weaken the film. Voiceover in the start begin the theme of oversimplification and hand-holding that persist throughout the film. For example, when Violet’s voice over explains that “To [her] mom, appearance was everything”, it feels as though the film doesn’t trust its audience enough to glean that through filmmaking. Musical cues, as well, are over-used to attempt to create an emotional intensity that simply isn’t there.

In general, the film stands by genre hallmarks – an overbearing mother obsessed with her daughter’s physical appearance and ability to attract the perfect man, a perfect man that turns out to be less than perfect, a second man that sees the “real Violet”, and a demanding job at which the protagonist must prove herself using the lessons she’s learned throughout the film.

The strongest element, and one of the most original, is the connection between Violet and a young girl named Zoe (Daria Johns), the daughter of Violet’s hairdresser, romantic interest, and natural hair supporter Will Wright (Lyriq Bent). It allows something else to define Violet other than her relationship to her hair, and thus strengthens and complicates her as a character.

“Real women, no models.”

There is a strangely regressive feminism that drives Violet’s journey, and almost mockingly critiques her behavior. She is punished by the story for ordering a salad, for wearing heels to a date, for expecting a proposal from her boyfriend. All of this is “wrong” within the narrative, but why? It is a strangely regressive feminism that equates behaving in a way that is “too feminine” with a lack of freedom and self-confidence. “What brothers want is a woman who’s real,” Will tells Violet, as if the preceding behaviors are emblematic of her lack of authenticity.

NAPPILY EVER AFTER: An Exploration of Beauty that’s Shallow, Often Judgmental
Nappily Ever After (2018) – source: Netflix

The film seems to not know how to explore Violet’s emotional walls any more deeply than with issues involving a singular incident in her childhood, and simply doesn’t. The classism that Violet’s mother propagates, for example, against people in Violet’s life that don’t match Violet’s mother’s image of financial success, is a far more interesting issue, but is largely unexplored.

For many black women, forgoing extensions, weaves, wigs, and chemicals can be a defining one, and this seems to be understood on a basic level, but not explored with the nuance these issues deserve. At one point Violet says: “I was so used to looking at myself in the mirror all the time, but now I never do.” She still wears stylish outfits, well-applied makeup, and lives in a beautifully, expensive apartment. She is still traditionally feminine, formal, and well-dressed. The assertion that without her hair her entire philosophy toward her presentation, and therefore her life, has changed, seems oversimplified and disingenuous.

Nappily Ever After: Conclusion

Every relationship, every conflict, every emotional beat, is driven by Violet’s relationship to hair, and this very quickly feels condescending to the character and the intended audience, likely other Black women. Every discussion about Violet’s growth is focused more on her outward presentation rather than the underlying emotional insecurities she faces, and what begins as encouragement that Black women embrace their natural beauty feels like a judgmental criticism of women who put effort into their appearance or present as too feminine or too high maintenance.

Strong performances and solid filmmaking can only slightly elevate an otherwise shallow examination of a cultural issue.

What can be done to enliven depictions of women while staying in line with the genre conventions of the romantic comedy? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Nappily Ever After was released on Netflix on September 21, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xh9XFxo2Hg

 

Does content like this matter to you?


Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.

Join now!

Scroll To Top