Down in the Delta

Down in the Delta (1998)

  • 78% of critics liked it
    (23 reviews)

  • 67% of users liked it
    (1,320 ratings)

Poet Maya Angelou made her feature directorial debut with this African-American family drama, shown theatrically but originally produced for the Showtime cable network. Unemployed single mother Loretta (Alfre Woodward) lives with her mother, Rosa Lynn (Mary Alice), in a Chicago apartment. Drugs and… More

PG-13, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By
Maya Angelou
Written By
Myron Goble
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Dec 25, 1998 Wide
On DVD
Jul 20, 1999

Critic Reviews

  • Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International

    Maya Angelou's stunning feature directorial debut.

  • Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

    Not particularly groundbreaking, and neither is its message, but it's all done with sensitivity and intelligence by Angelou.

  • Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

    I was not thrilled about having to see it. But, sitting there in the dark, I became tremendously moved by the movie, and I have not forgotten its power.

  • Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

    Employs too many redundant, stagy flashbacks to tell the story of Loretta's ancestors.

  • Greg Muskewitz, eFilmCritic.com

    A powerful performance from Alfre Woodard captured by Angelou's quiet, poetic direction.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Cast

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