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reviews The first in Mobil/Exxon Masterpiece Theatre's 'American Collection' |
 Cora (Regina Taylor) comforts a frightened Jessie (Molly Graham) |
Heartfelt performance by Taylor lifts tragic race relations drama
By
RON MILLER
of TheColumnists.com
AFTER 30 distinguished years bringing us some of England's finest
television
programs, PBS' "Exxon/Mobil Masterpiece Theatre" finally
is launching a season of new dramas about America, made in America.
The first in the so-called "American Collection" is a moving, beautifully acted drama called "Cora Unashamed," adapted from a short story by African-American writer Langston Hughes. It gets a special showcase premiere Wednesday night from 9-11, then repeats in the traditional Sunday night 9-11 "Masterpiece Theatre" spot.
Of
course, it might have been better if PBS hadn't decided to premiere
its most-anticipated new drama night on Wednesday, where it will
go up against TV's hottest drama series, "The West Wing,"
during its first hour and top-rated "Law & Order"
in the second hour.
But PBS doesn't expect to storm the Nielsens with "Cora
Unashamed." It just hopes that all the viewers who've griped
in the past about no American-based dramas on "Masterpiece
Theatre" will take the time to watch this. (They're going
to repeat it Sunday night in the usual "Exxon/Mobil Masterpiece
Theatre" timeslot, just to make sure everybody gets a chance
to see it.)
The first thing you will notice about the "American Collection" is that it has the same high standard of quality that the British productions have had for the past 30 years. "Cora Unashamed" was filmed largely on location in the midwest--and it has the rich, beautiful look most of us associate with the British dramas filmed in rural England.
The heart of Hughes' story is a contest of wills between two mothers in rural Iowa, circa 1916-1930.
Lizbeth
Sturdevant (Cherry Jones) is a by-the-book mom who lords it over
her two daughters like the foreman of a chain gang. She gives
them little latitude to develop independent personalities and
seems most to care about how they're ultimately going to fit
into the social order of the community, which Lizbeth also is
working hard to control.
 Cora with her white lover, Joe (Kohl Sudduth) |
 Cora with her daughter, Josephine (Tinashe Kachungwe), left, and Jessie (Molly Graham) |
The other mother is Cora Jenkins (Regina Taylor), the black housekeeper who spends most of her days in the Sturdevant household. Cora is an unwed mother, whose white lover mysteriously deserted her--or, perhaps, was killed for his radical politics and social ideas. Cora has kept her daughter, Josephine (Tinashe Kachungwe), and frequently brings her to the Sturdevant place, so she can watch over her during the day.
Josephine and the youngest Sturdevant girl, Jessie (Molly Graham), are about the same age when we first see them together--and they're good friends, unmindful of the social and racial differences between them. Intimidated by her severe, domineering mother, little Jessie often flees to the arms of Cora, who's a loving mom, quite tolerant of Jessie's childishness. In time, Jessie almost becomes a second daughter to Cora.
When a tragedy befalls Cora, Jessie bonds with her even more tightly and literally grows up thinking the black woman is more like her real mother than Mrs. Sturdevant. As you might imagine, this gradually brings the two mothers into a series of major confrontations, leading to the emotion-charged climax.
In one sense, "Cora Unashamed" may bewilder some viewers because they may be primed for this to be one of those conventional TV dramas in the wake of "Roots" that ultimately turns on an issue of bigotry against African-Americans. Though the racial issue is there, it really isn't the central focus of this story. Instead, the key issue is the proper role a mother should play in the rearing of any child, black or white.
The performance of Regina Taylor as Cora is the most valuable asset of this production. She's a subtle, low-key actor in most of her roles, but has a canny ability to make us see right into the core of her characters and feel their emotions with them. When she finally erupts with the feelings she's been holding back for many years, the result is even more powerful.
For those viewers who remember Taylor most fondly from "I'll Fly Away," her short-lived NBC series, this will seem comfortably familiar territory. In that critically-acclaimed series, which had a brief second run on PBS after NBC cancelled it, Taylor also played the housekeeper to a white family and became surrogate mother to the children when their mother was confined to a sanitarium.
Lesser
known to viewers is Cherry Jones, whose greatest successes have
been in the Broadway theater: Three-time Tony nominee and winner
for best actress for "The Heiress." On screen, she
has been seen in "Erin Brocovich" and "The Perfect
Storm," two of the year's most popular films, and has been
in both of Gene Wilder's A&E network mystery movies, "Murder
in A Small Town" and "Lady in Question."
Together these two fine actors produce real fireworks as they
battle for the heart and mind of young Jessie Sturdevant through
her teen years, right up to the point of a tragic event for both
their lives. Prepare to do a lot of nose-blowing and eye-mopping
before you get through "Cora Unashamed."
The high quality of "Cora Unashamed" isn't a surprise because it comes from producer Marian Rees, whose TV movies have garnered 11 Emmys over the years. She gives the "American Collection" a solid sendoff that bodes well for the future at a time when the broadcast networks are making few distinguished TV movies.
© 2000 by Ron Miller. The color photo is by Bob Greene. All photos are © 2000 by WGBH.
Ron Miller
was a co-author of Terrence O'Flaherty's 'Masterpiece Theatre,'
official companion book to the PBS series.
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