Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story (2008)
"The Lena Baker Story" (original title)

A chronicle of the life of Lena Baker, the first woman to be sent to the electric chair in Georgia for the murder of her employer, who forced her into sexual slavery.

Director:

Ralph Wilcox

Writer:

Ralph Wilcox

Stars:

Tichina Arnold, Dwayne Boyd, Chris Burns

Cast

Credited cast:
Tichina Arnold	...	Lena Baker
Dwayne Boyd	...	Juke Joint Man #1
Chris Burns	...	Max Arthur
Kaya Camp	...	Young Lena
Kenny Cook	...	Barry Arthur
Peter Coyote	...	Elliot Arthur
Jasmine Farmer	...	Young Netty
Mike Hickman	...	Mr. Candance
Tom Huff	...	Ken Thomas
Jason Leith	...	Bailiff
Randy McDowell	...	Lyle Jacobs
Paul Montgomery	...	Rev. James
Tom Nowicki	...	Judge Winslow
Ron Prather	...	Mr. Riddle
Natalie L. Richerdson	...	Teenage Lena

Storyline

A chronicle of the life of Lena Baker, the first woman to be sent to the electric chair in Georgia for the murder of her employer, who forced her into sexual slavery.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving racism, violence, alcoholism, and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laughing Crow Entertainment, Schuster's Cash

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

A little better perspective...

Here's a second, more sober and realistic review.

This film has a very made-for-TV quality, and despite a decent cast, the acting and script is quite plain and corny..

.the music in particular is very hammy in some scenes (clearly the producers and directors thought gospel singing throughout quiet dialog scenes was required to INSTRUCT the audience how to feel - a mark of poorly executed drama). The music cues are horribly instructive and rob most of the scenes of genuine depth.

It's always a shame when a worthwhile story is told so poorly, but this reeks of misconceived earnest intentions. You feel the desperation of the creators to elicit emotion, but it's so bogged down in contrived melodrama it misfires completely and will greatly disappoint anyone looking for an insightful racial drama.

That IMDb score needs to come down a bit closer to reality..it's no Oscar material, that is most certain.