Mississippi Damned
| Mississippi Damned | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Tina Mabry |
| Produced by | Lee V. Stiff Morgan R. Stiff |
| Screenplay by | Tina Mabry |
| Starring | Adam Clark Malcolm Goodwin Michael Hyatt |
| Music by | Ryan Adison Amen |
| Cinematography | Bradford Young |
| Edited by | Morgan R. Stiff |
|
Production
company |
Morgan's Mark
|
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mississippi Damned is a 2009 American drama film directed by Tina Mabry. The drama features Tessa Thompson, DB Woodside, Malcolm Goodwin, Malcolm David Kelley and Michael Hyatt. The film was written and directed by Tina Mabry, based on her life growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi. It was filmed in and around Ahoskie, North Carolina.
Taking place in 1986 and 1998 and based on a true story, three poor, Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family’s cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence. They independently struggle to escape their circumstances and must decide whether to confront what’s plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate, forever damned in Mississippi. Writer/director Tina Mabry captures growing up in a world where possibilities and opportunities seem to die in the face of the suffocating reality of physical and sexual abuse, obsession, and a myriad of destructive compulsions.
In 1986 teenage cousins Leigh and Sammy, and Leigh's younger sister Kari, watch as their mothers and aunts struggle to maintain a roof over their heads. Leigh, a closeted lesbian, is devastated when her girlfriend announces she is marrying a man. Leigh attacks him and is arrested and kicked out of her parents' house. Sammy, a talented basketball player, is sexually abused by an older man, and paid for sexual acts in order to get the money he needs to support his burgeoning basketball career. After Sammy's mother stabs her boyfriend's lover and is arrested, Sammy is taken in by his aunt. He rapes his younger cousin Kari, Leigh's sister.
By 1998 the children are adults. Leigh is still hung up on her old girlfriend and continues to visit her. Sammy, a former professional basketball player, is out of work due to an injury. His pride and previous fame make him reluctant to take the minimum wage job he needs to support his wife and child. Kari, a talented pianist who has delayed college for years to take care of her cancer-stricken mother, is waiting to hear if she has been accepted by a musical conservatory. As she struggles to save money for school, she feels bound by family and friends, most of whom have no money to lend her or are financially dependent on her. She eventually turns to Sammy for money. Although he gives it to her, she is disgusted and ashamed for having asked him. Sammy, feeling impotent, begins to seduce his son's underage teenage babysitter. When he is caught by his wife, she contacts the police. He commits suicide.
...
Wikipedia