The acting, especially paired with the solid singing, the costumes and the look of the film were elevated. But the film struggled to push past my “I don’t usually care for musicals” threshold. I don’t think the music stood out all that well or was very memorable and often cut through the weight and trauma that was at the core of the story & action.
Fantasia Barrino was textured and evocative with her performance, while Danielle Brooks gobbled her scenes up, but she is the boldest character and designed to shine. Henson was quality and Dominguez was properly menacing, though not as nuanced as his scarily domineering Zola character.
The film was perfectly fine but it wasn't my thing, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize the work and how it could land for others.