mark Almy

Well be prepared to feel a full range of emotions and when you're done watching be prepared to feel angst for a long while after. It's wordy but you'll listen to and feel every word. You feel like a voyeur and at the same time you feel like it's happening to you. You wonder why Ma is always late, harsh and so darn demanding and controlling. Ma just wants to perfect and protect what's hers and to defy her is to deny her of all she has; her voice, her gift and her control. She has to maintain control for self preservation because she doesn't think you'll remember her otherwise. You wonder why the band puts up with it; what's in it for them? Where is their ambition? Is it enough just to survive. Then you meet Levee and wonder what's his deal. He's ambitious, hungry, lost and unapologetically angry. Why is he so unyielding? You best move out of his way because he'll role over you even if it's to his own detriment. He's sure to get where he going. When its all said and done you feel manhandled by Ma, disalusioned by lifes twists and turns and disappointed in people you might have otherwise thought would turn their life around. Be perpared to feel like you messed up but good and some other emotions you might not have believed were in you but this film will take you into the dark. Dont be afraid sometimes it helps to look at the dark so you can see the light. Just make sure you come back to the light. Its not where you're meant to live.