When Woman, Thou Art Loosed begins, a young woman pulls out a gun and kills a man during a church service. The woman, Michelle Jordan (played by Kimberly Elise), is a composite of several African American women who are in trouble in and out of prison, according to titles at the end of the film. The purpose of the movie, directed by Michael Schultz, is to explain why she committed murder in broad daylight. The story is based on the novel by Bishop T. D. Jakes, who appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 2001 as America's best preacher. The film recounts Michelle's life, with testimonials to the camera by her mother Cassie (played by Loretta Devine) and the murder victim, Reggie (played by Clifton Powell), her stepfather, using many flashbacks and flashforwards. Molested at the age of eight and raped at the age of twelve by her stepfather, Michelle clearly grows up angry, especially when Cassie fails to support her complaints about Reggie's unwelcome advances; Cassie fears that she will lack a man in her life, so she believes him when he lies that he did not mess around with Michelle. Child molestees and rape victims often blame themselves, and some become drug addicts and prostitutes, and indeed Michelle falls into that trap. During her entire life, few give her a break. Todd (played by Michael Boatman), her first love, tries to rekindle a flame after she is released from prison for drug possession while living in a halfway house with a convivial companion, but her rage overpowers her desire to start again, especially after she is assaulted by a drug dealer who tries to collect a past $5,000 debt. After Michelle is assigned to death row, perhaps the most peaceful living arrangement in all her life, T. D. Jakes, the bishop of the church (who plays himself) where she committed murder, visits and provides sympathy for her. Jakes's sermons, which appear on television screens throughout the film, are extremely eloquent in encouraging those who have engaged in misdeeds to change their ways. Ironically, Reggie is in the process of repenting for his rape of Michelle when he Michelle guns him down. MH
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