The River Niger

An intimate look at life in the ghetto: Johnny Williams is a house painter who moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie. But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are even tougher, and it takes every ounce of Johnny's love and courage for the couple to make it through their strife, finding redemption in the River Niger.

Director: Krishna Shah

Cast: James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett Jr., Glynn Turman, Jonelle Allen, Roger E. Mosley, Ralph Wilcox, Teddy Wilson

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.