Lackawanna Blues
HBO Video

S. Epatha Merkeson took the Best Actress in a TV Movie for her portrayal of Rachel “Nanny” Crosby, a sassy, but sensitive mama who ran a boarding house for misfits in a poor, African-American neighborhood in Lackawanna, New York. Based on the autobiographical one-man show by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the quirky cast of characters is seen through the eyes of young Ruben (Marcus Carl Franklin), who is taken under Nanny’s wing, after his birth mother lands in jail repeatedly for drug use. The cast includes strong performances by Mos Def, Macy Gray, Louis Gossett Jr., Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Saul Williams, Rosie Perez and Robert Bradley as a wise old blues singer. Each of the residents attempts to educate Ruben in their own unique way, especially Merkeson, who really shines in her role as a devoted surrogate mother and as the center of a community that begins to come apart as businesses close down and folks move away. The film is filled with great music, especially during the fish-fry sequences and the story it tells is celebratory and life-affirming. - David Bassin