Synopsis
A single mother plagued by alcohol and drug addictions is sent with her children from Chicago to her ancestral home in the Mississippi Delta, to live with her uncle and aunt for the summer.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Alfre WoodardLoretta Sinclair
- Al Freeman Jr.Earl Sinclair
- Esther RolleAnnie Sinclair
- Mary AliceRosa Lynn Sinclair
- Loretta DevineZenia
- Wesley SnipesWill Sinclair
- Mpho KoahoThomas
- Anne-Marie JohnsonMonica
- Justin LordDr. Rainey
- Richard YearwoodMarco
Recommendations
- 90
Los Angeles Times
In adding feature-film directing to her formidable list of accomplishments, poet and author Maya Angelou tells first-time screenwriter Myron Goble's absorbing and far-ranging story with simplicity and directness while guiding a splendid ensemble cast to an array of impressive portrayals. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Angelou's first-time direction stays out of its own way; she doesn't call attention to herself with unnecessary visual touches, but focuses on the business at hand. - 80
Variety
Poet Maya Angelou's debut feature directing effort is a solid and affecting piece of work. - 80
Chicago Reader
Maya Angelou?s very deliberate blocking of the actors charges each movement and line of dialogue with emotion, and the expressive combinations of colors and textures in the settings convey a palpable sense of the environments in which the characters undergo big but believable changes. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
Roots matter, is Angelou’s Hallmark-style lesson. So for good measure, novice screenwriter Myron Goble also includes an unsubtle subplot about a candelabra that has been in the family since slaves were freed, thereby throwing one more ingredient into this thick dramatic gumbo. - 75
Baltimore Sun
By the time it's ended, past and present have fused inextricably to create a movie that, in its own down-home way, is nothing less than epic. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
A joyful film -- and hopefully one that will not slip away unnoticed. - 70
The New York Times
The movie, which often threatens to disappear into a tub of soapsuds, is elevated immeasurably by the calm, stately performances of Mary Alice and Mr. Freeman.
