The Lena Baker Story

Tichina Arnold has been making audiences laugh for years, though her work on TV (Everybody Hates Chris) and movies (Dance Flick). With the release of this powerful film by director Ralph Wilcox, fans get a chance to see the talented actress exercise her dramatic skills playing the part of a rural southern Black woman caught up in a violent and destructive relationship with the White man she is hired to care for. The facts of the story – Baker was found guilty of murdering the man despite acting in self-defense and eventually became the only woman to ever die in the electric chair in the state of Georgia – will appall you; the way that Arnold and Peter Coyote bring these dark characters to life in the film will amaze you. Everything about the film – the story, the cinematography, the soundtrack and the excellent acting from the entire cast – will stay with you long after it is over.