Sins of the Mother (2010) Reviews

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

  edwagreen2010-06-26

  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.