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Run time:
101 min.
Shot in Colquitt, Georgia at the Southwest Film Commission's Jokara-Micheaux Film, Television, and Music Production Studio, THE LENA BAKER STORY recounts the tragic true story of the first and only woman sentenced to die in the electric chair in the state of Georgia. Against her will, African American housekeeper, Lena Baker (Tichina Arnold, searing and vivid) engages in a complicated and controversial affair with Eliot Arthur (Peter Coyote), the father of her white employer (Chris Burns). Warned to stay away from the abusive drunkard by both her mother (Beverly Todd) and the town sheriff (Michael Rooker in a subtle, and complex performance), Baker gives into Arthur's advances in a misguided attempt to protect her family. When she finally has enough, Lena attempts to break away. Arthur threatens her with a gun and a shocking confrontation ensues leaving Baker facing a murder wrap in the Jim Crow era south, at the mercy of a jury of twelve white men.
In 2005, Baker was posthumously pardoned, undoing sixty years later, the damage done in a speedy six hour trial. Inspired by the 1998 Dr. Lena Bond Phillips' book credited with re-opening the case, this film changes the names of all the major players, with the exception of Lena Baker. This debut feature film from writer, director and producer Ralph Wilcox is a work of tremendous promise, marking the arrival of another major force to the growing roster of Georgia-based powerhouse producers. Cast and crew will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. After the post-screening join us for an Opening Night celebration at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (Home of the Atlanta Film Festival Offices) Q&A with: Ralph Wilcox, Director Tichina Arnold, Actor Beverly Todd, Actor Michael Rooker, Actor Chris Burns, Actor |
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Regal Atlantic Station | + add to cal | sold out |
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Cast & Crew
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Audience Buzz
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12:29 AM
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Ralph Wilcox's debut feature takes on the life story of Lena Baker, the only woman to have been executed in Georgia. It is a period drama, taking place between 1910 and 1944, where she was basically enslaved by the man whom she would kill in self defense. His screenplay starts off a bit rough, as the film has a bookend of Baker in prison, and then flashes back to her childhood, which is presented in two segments. Those three steps before we actually get to the meat of Baker's life act as a bit of an extended prologue and staggers the pace of the opening 15 minutes or so. There is an awkward naivety to Wilcox's beginning that does not necessarily work in the film's favor, except in emphasizing the later tragedy. However, once Tichina Arnold takes control of the screen as the adult Lena Baker, the dramatic momentum heats up, the emotional pacing resolves itself and, with the outstanding chemistry she has with Beverly Todd as her mother, we are in good hands!
Tichina Arnold's performance requires a great deal of emotional territory that is not necessarily fully explored in the screenplay. There is no exploration of her father (absent or not), nor her fear of alcohol, which was part of the torture by her captor (played with a delicious wit by Peter Coyote!). I bring up the absence of the father, as I think that might have played into her submission to Coyote's character. However, that is a minor quibble, that is made even more trivial as her scenes while awaiting execution are extraordinary.
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