Sins of the Mother (TV 2010)

Shay is a young African-American college student whom is forced to take a year off from school to return to her hometown where she struggles with her anger and insecurity when she's forced ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul A. Kaufman

Writers:

Elizabeth Hunter (teleplay), Carleen Brice (novel)

Stars:

Jill Scott, Nicole Beharie, Katharine Isabelle

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jill Scott	...	Nona
Nicole Beharie	...	Shay
Katharine Isabelle	...	Ivy
Monaeya Silveira	...	Sunny
Matt Ward	...	Oliver
Dave Leach	...	Matt
Ecstasia Sanders	...	Stephanie
Mimi Rogers	...	Lois
Jerry Wasserman	...	Carl
Gale Van Cott	...	Manager
Roman Podhora	...	Steve
Mike Coleman	...	Customer
Maxine Guess	...	Belinda
Candus Churchill	...	Rev. McGuire
Natalie Charles	...	Worshiper #1

Storyline

Shay is a young African-American college student whom is forced to take a year off from school to return to her hometown where she struggles with her anger and insecurity when she's forced to confront her alcoholic mother, Nona, whom is currently in AA and a churchgoer, over her entire childhood of abuse and neglect which Shay is both unwilling and unable to let go of.

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Plot Keywords:

abuse | alcoholic | garden | african american | college | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amarties goneon

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Front Street Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"It's my Life"
Written by Edgard Jaude, Audrey Martells
Courtesy of ABACO MUSIC LTD and CYPRESS CREEK MUSIC

User Reviews

Sins of the Mother- Don't Let Mama Ever Forget ***

Nicole Behaire and Jill Scott give startling performances about a daughter who cannot forget about the dysfunctional life that her mother gave her.

Behaire is absolutely terrific as the daughter. The contortions in her face, her vulnerability and sadness, her refusal to forgive her mother for her early life culminates in a memorable scene in church when the daughter blurts everything out.

The daughter has so much anger in her. She is just seething in it. Forced to take a leave of absence from teaching while pursuing a master's degree, she has no other place but to go to but her mother's house and the two continue to battle almost immediately upon meeting after a several year separation.

The daughter obviously needs to be in therapy, while the mother has turned her life around working as an administrator, while she is a recovering alcoholic.

My major criticism of the film is that the mother, the daughter's friend and ultimately the daughter herself are pregnant without marriage. Must this be the way of life for African-American women? This seems to be an accepted mode in this film and society at large today.