Touching and heartbreaking the TV movie A Cross to Bear has been released on DVD. The gripping story teaches a lot of important values that are challenging to young people and delivers an inspirational message for everyone. Using some fresh faces from the acting community, the film should open doors for the cast that works hard to bring it to the screen.
The story centers on Erica Moses (Danielle Deadwyler) a teen that gets abandoned by her mother. Having the fortitude to press on and start a new path into an adult life she meets Trey (Karon Joseph), a talented song writer who finds her attractive. She moves in with Trey and he offers her nice things and a place to live. Trey gets tired of Erica after some time and feels her drinking has gotten out of hand so he throws her out. Being too proud to tell him she’s pregnant with his child, she leaves.
Out on the street she finds life hard moving from shelter to shelter with a growing child within her. She panhandles getting money to pay for her booze. On one occasion she gets shut out of a women’s shelter and now with a daughter in tow she takes up on an offer from a homeless person to stay at a deserted building. Getting drunk she passes out waking up two days later in Joan’s House, a shelter for young girls, without her baby. When Joan (Kim Fields) pushes her to notify authorities about the loss of her daughter, she starts on a downward spiral looking for answers.
The film takes a few twists and turns involving Erica, her roommate Tina (Tamika Tanner) and Joan each challenging as the next. Director Tandira Potts keeps her viewers guessing on how the movie will deal with the finale. She shifts Erica from good situations to bad and then around for another cycle creating a heartrending mood to her movie that gets agonizing at times.
She ably directs her cast, especially with newcomer to feature film Danielle Deadwyler as lead Erica Moses who she gets an excellent performance. Her ability to get into the skin of Erica and show the hurt makes the film forceful and even hypnotic at times. She plays off her support characters well, letting them contribute to her performance and transform Erica into a woman who rises above her daemons.
In support veteran Kim Fields keeps her Joan strong pushing Erica to do the right thing. Even when Erica falls from her grace, she’s tough making sure Erica makes the decision needed to keep her on the track of recovery. Fields shows empathy for Erica, but has a hidden hurt within her that she’s not open with to the young woman. As a child actor, Fields is best known for her character Tootie in “Different Strokes” and the spin off “The Facts of Life”, both TV shows that are now classics.
BONUS FEATURE:
A Cross to Bear has several deleted scenes that deserve a mandatory watch. They show the relationship between Trey and Erica that lead to her becoming an alcoholic and losing her way.
The video quality is okay on the DVD and as good as it was originally displayed on Television in HD. The Aspect Ratio1.78:1 fills the whole screen on 16×9 widescreen and mirrors its television release. The stereo sound quality is as good as you television speakers.
A Cross To Bear is unrated by the MPAA but does contain some violence, a grotesque scene, teen alcohol use and language.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Jackie Long, Kim Fields and Malinda Williams
Director: Tandira Potts
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Drama, Inspirational, Faith / Spirtual, Friendships
Running Time: 1 hr 29 min
Video Release Date: March 11, 2014
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Video: Aspect Ratio1.78:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RJL Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
