Down In The Delta

U.S. Poet Laureate Maya Angelou branches out into filmmaking with this predictable but sometimes moving story of frayed family bonds and their renewal. Saintly Rosa (Mary Alice) lives in a run-down Chicago housing project with her irresponsible, 30-ish daughter Loretta (Alfre Woodard) and two young grandchildren, Thomas (Mpho Koaho) and Tracy (Kulani Hassen). Intelligent, conscientious Thomas and autistic Tracy are frequently neglected by their mother, whose primary interest is in partying in the 'hood. After one particularly harrowing bender, Rosa loses patience and presents Loretta with an ultimatum: She can take the kids down South to Uncle Earl's (Al Freeman) f...