The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel

The women who play the sisters are singers, and not as experienced in acting, including Kierra 'Kiki' Sheard, who plays her mother, Karen Clark Sheard. They struggle at times with the dialogue as the film shifts quickly from one intense conflict to the next. But Ellis holds on to the movie the way Dr. Mattie held on to the music; she wills it into excellence with the help of the glorious music and the spirit that lifts it and us higher.