"Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am" An Artful Biopic Flick that Makes You Think and Feel

The biopic doc. on Toni Morrison (TM) is an insightful, immersive and artistic reflection of one of the world's most brilliant writers.  And, in doing so, it's a testimony to the omnipotence of words with their capacity to embody lives & experiences intensely that are outside one's self.  From the onset, the film establishes its flair for meshing creative visual artistry which frame the literary genius of Ms. Morrison.  There's a montage of photographs & images dissected and refigured in a stunning compilation spanning images of TM's life.  TM is the author of her own life on screen.  She is candid, eloquent, direct and delightful in her interviews off-camera along with footages of other recorded interviews.  Legendary literary figures & iconic individuals bring their insightful commentaries about TM, their relationships to her and the impact of her extraordinary work.  Some of the exceptional interviews are from Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez, Hilton Als, Farah Griffin, Russel Banks, Angela Davis and Oprah Winfrey.  TM exclaims her writing as focusing on the black experience in America is in a unique clear voice told free from the "white gaze,""without the non-white judgmental eye."  TM's narrative is driven by deep interior pain of the poor, made to feel inferior class of blacks' point of view.  Although TM describes her upbringing in OH as a cordial melting pot.  Her desire to attend college was to expand her horizons and put distance from home.  This artful & absorbing doc. is punctuated by paintings & photographs by mainly African Americans illustrating an epoch of slavery & segregation in our country which TM confronts in her writings.  The film points out literary awards weren't bestowed TM in a timely manner.  TM's laughs off this push for honorary recognition which have been given including the Amer. Nobel Prize & Pulitzer Prize in Literature & the Presidential Medal of Honor.  The artists whose work highlights this film were for the most part overlooked during their lifetime.  In addition to being a prolific and magnificent writer, TM was also an editor,  college professor and single mother of two sons.  The film retains an intimate & ebullient tone throughout.  TM tells us "I'm smart early in the morning."  She's up before sunrise, "the most glorious part of the day" and gets in 3 productive hours of writing.  Feeling overwhelmed TM construed a list of all she was doing and whittled it down to the only 2 that mattered: being a mother to her sons & writing.  There is an earned luminescent hubris engulfing TM.  There's no barriers between TM's narratives and her reader.  TM identifies as a black writer, exploring race, history and the black experience.  Her rapport with the camera instills a fresh directness that feels conversational while stirring controversial dialogue.  This doc. is a must see film.  It's directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.  Toni Morrison's literary prowess is immeasurable.