Woman Thou Art Loosed

Woman Thou Art Loosed (Director: Michael Schultz)

This is a movie in which you've probably never heard. It's a very low-budget indie (in the true sense, not the Miramax sense).

Bishop T.D. Jakes (who also stars as himself) wrote the self-help novel on which this is based. It's about a woman who grows up with abuse from her mother's boyfriend, and who later gets into all sorts of trouble with drugs and general crime. The film begins with Michelle (Kimberly Elise) walking into a congregation, looking as if she wants to get saved. Then, something angers her, and she pulls out a gun and starts shooting someone.

From here, Michelle begins to talk to the reverend in prison, giving her life story. She talks about her childhood (beginning with those happy times) and then when things changed, as her mom (Loretta Divine) starts seeing a no-gooder (Clifton Powell). There's also talk about when she first got out of prison for drugs and whatnot, how certain people try to find for her the right path. There's a sort of romance that the movie is not interested in involving "Spin City" and "Arliss" vet Michael Boatman.

The trouble with a movie like this is not the content, which is quite plainly important. Child abuse and the domino effect of it cannot be spoken about enough. The trouble is not with the performances, which are all very good and actually have some powerful moments. Good ingredients for a movie here, have I laid out. The problem comes from the limitations of a low budget, which give the movie a cheap, instructional video feel. Director Michael Schultz is a black-belt veteran of TV and film. He's directed shows like "Baretta," "Starsky and Hutch," "Ally McBeal," "Felicity," "JAG," "Charmed," "The Practice," and countless films--but the most well-known films on his resume include The Last Dragon and Disorderlies. Woman Thou Art Loosed could have used better pacing, editing, some camera moves, and when introducing a subplot, following through with it. It's a good story, it's just not a very good movie. It's frustrating to write about a movie like this because you know with a better set of circumstances, this would be a must-see. As it is, it left me kind of apathetic.