have a lot of admiration for Bishop TD Jakes.

In Woman Thou Art Loosed, he takes his ministry to a new frontier, dramatizing a problem in his church, of sexual abuse and the difficulty in dealing with it. Though he didn’t direct this film, it’s made by Jakes’s production company, he stars in it, and it ends with information on where to go to learn more. But it’s a surprisingly non-preachy film, and that has a lot to do with the strength of its cast.

First, I have to admit, I think Kimerly Elise is a very beautiful woman. But she’s also an amazingly effective actress, and the level of rage she reaches in this film really drives home the pain people who’ve been violated in this way must feel. She’s supported strongly by Loretta Devine as her mother, who I’ve never seen give a bad performance, ever. Seeing her do drama as well as she does comedy just further reiterates that point. But I also liked Michael Boatman as the boyfriend. His likability and seeming genuine attraction to Elise’s Michelle gives you real hope among an ultimately tragic story. Finally, Bishop Jakes himself really does an impressive job playing himself in this scenario. He’s not asked to do too much in his dramatic scenes, and as a result, plays it in a way that conveys true warmth and compassion. Nobody’s acting in this film distracts from it or ruins the illusion of reality, and again, in a film that’s almost a PSA, it would be very easy to do so. Woman Thou Art Loosed doesn’t preach, it sympathizes. And as a result, genuinely invites the viewer to share his / her pain with the church. It’s amazingly effective.

There was something I didn’t like about it, though. The talking heads to reveal characters violates the frame story as set up, and was jarring to me, keeping the film from having a direct perspective, and playing out more like a morality tale. Still, I liked the clean high quality film, thought the shots and acting did their jobs well, and that made up for this little gaffe. I’m a Muslim, but I'm recommending Woman Thou Art Loosed, and if that’s a recommendation for Bishop TD Jakes’s ministries as well, I don’t feel bad about that.