InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

gayeshortland Compelling watching and some terrific performances. A storyline that kept up the interest and camera work that knew how to caress its subjects. So what's my gripe? After several days' thinking about it, I have to conclude it was lesbian fantasy more than the realistic drama it claims to be. Treasure had beauty and impact and I LOVED Shadow's mobile face - but we might as well have been watching two teenage boys - theirs was a lean male beauty. And as for Brownie!! Great performance but why did she also have to have the physique of a man -- a squat brutal one in this case? There wasn't any sense that we were watching ordinary women in a terrible predicament. And had none of them men or children on the outside? Where was their history? That older woman in group session was almost stuck in to compensate for the lack of all that. Secondly I agree that Treasure's brooding impassive personality prevented us from knowing her thoughts and really feeling for her and in the end robbed the film of emotional impact.

twilightfades33 The director of this film was my professor for a beginning film class at Temple University this past semester. She is a very intelligent and funny woman, and at the end of the semester, we watched this film. Grades are in already, so don't think I'm posting this to brownnose, but I really enjoyed seeing Ms. Dunye's film. The "women-in-prison" plot is not an area covered very often in film, and when it is touched on, there are too many stereotypes to keep count of. Although there is some predictability in this film, the subject matter and themes were looked at from a very fresh angle. Ms. Dunye often talked to our class about incorporating reality and fiction together so that the two would blend and the line separating them would be blurry. This is exactly what she's accomplished in this film. The storyline is believable and the viewer becomes sympathetic to the characters; even though they are convicted prisoners, we look past the bars and into the minds of these women. We may not understand their motives, but we appreciate their actions. I'd recommend this film to anyone, especially those who've never seen a movie covering this subject area before.4/5

adlermgmt Unlike the one user who thinks the movie is about lesbianism (and obviously immoral to their Christian sensibilities), it's actually about humanity, family legacies and the consequences of personal choices. It stopped me in my channel changing tracks and brought to a few tears by the end of it. That's a good flick. Excellent acting, real dialogue for the most part, and effective music and slo-mo. If you catch it on TV, stay for the treat.

tcm0624 There are quite a few things wrong with this film. Let's see:We don't like any character too much. The main character's quiet, yet aggressive, manner hinders the character development. The duality of love among prison "families" and prison violence is not totally believable. At times, the movie actually seems slow moving.This movie is very similar to some other prison movie in every aspect except the ending.I sure didn't expect the ending yet now it makes perfect sense. All by itself the ending makes the movie worth watching.