The true-life story of a mother who overcame an addiction to crack and became a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community.
Acting
Queen Latifah's raw, lived-in performance — she IS this woman.
Writing
Nelson George's script avoids poverty porn for something messier, truer.
Direction
Intimate handheld camerawork that never feels exploitative.
Director
Nelson George
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on director Nelson George's own sister's story; he wrote it after she died of AIDS complications in 1991.
Shot on location in Brooklyn with actual HIV/AIDS outreach workers as extras — the support group scenes are documentary-real.
US
