Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cora Triumphant, September 19, 2002
Almost all of the "Masterpiece Theatre American Collection" dramas have been disasters. The sole exception is "Cora Unashamed." This adaptation of Langston Hughes's short story is beautifully written, directed, and cast. It packs a greater emotional punch than almost anything else that television has produced in recent years.Cora, a black housekeeper, works for a well-placed white family in a small Iowa town, and loses her young daughter to illness. Cora finds a surrogate child in the youngest daughter of her employers, and the daughter, in turn, finds a soulmate in Cora. This friendship, as well as the young girl's romantic attachment, does not please her social-climbing mother. Matters come to a head when this child also falls ill. The underrated Regina Taylor plays Cora to perfection, displaying the full range of the character's emotions. Cora's sense of humor, honor, and love balance her pain, hurt, and jealousy. She never loses sight of the entire woman. Cherry Jones, one of the New York stage's greatest actresses, matches her as the flawed and domineering mother. Where a lesser actress would portray a cardboard villain, Jones displays all the vulnerability and humanity that lies under the surface. A job well done.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Faithful adaptation-and then some!, May 21, 2002
This film, and the underrated talent Regina Taylor, does a great job of "fleshing out" Langston Hughes' classic short story. The film remains faithful to the Hughes tale and does an excellent job of giving the characters added depth. We see all of the elements that cause the bond between Cora and Jessie, the misunderstood daughter of her cruel and indifferent employers. The acting and Iowa scenery are superb. This is one adaption that does not require you to read he original first. Read it to compare, but see thins and it will really make you think of what's important in life.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can you handle the truth?, August 28, 2007
This is a story about the shame that binds us, and the truth that sets us free. It's about adolescent love, classism, racism, and a love that crosses all the boundaries.
Regina Taylor is a class act, and plays her characters with dignity and grace. Playing a woman who is fully expected to sacrifice her life for the family she works for, Ms. Taylor does as fine a job in this feature as she does in the TV series "I'll Fly Away" with Sam Waterston - one of my all time favorites.
When she loses her child to whooping cough, Cora's dedication to the little white girl she cares for, who was her daughter's friend, deepens. The story becomes more tragic as the true nature of the little girl's relationship with her own mother is based on the mother's shame, lies, and secrets. The way that shame plays out causes devastating effects to unfold until you just don't think you can take it any more.
And the power of the truth reveals how liberating honesty can be.
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