A young married couple and their daughter move to Philadelphia to build on their life together. However, once there, the father Dutch Maas (Razaaq Adoti) starts to have the moves put on him by his ex-girlfriend. Little by little, his naive church-going wife Valerie Maas (Aunjanue Ellis) starts to suspect, with the help of her protective friend, that Dutch may not be as faithful as he’s pretending to be.
When a man is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie, whose life unravels when she discovers that her husband of 15 years has been leading a double life. Dutch is actually a closeted homosexual. This leads to a great deal of emotional trauma for both the wife and the husband--as well as to a murder investigation subplot that's used to frame the story. Valerie is arrested and charged with murder. Things become complicated when its clear the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case doesn't care if she's guilty since he's looking to win the up coming election. Her strength of character and faith keeps the family alive as the investigation threatens to destroy all that they have known.
This is a well-meaning and well-intentioned film, but its attempt to deal honestly with a serious social issue often falls victim to slick melodramatics. Many scenes will have you rolling your eyes in disbelief, even while conceding that some of the points the movie is making are valid. The film does give a fair hearing to each of its torn and conflicted characters. It's like an urbanized African-American version of "Brokeback Mountain"-- only this time told from the viewpoint of the spouse rather than the two male lovers. There are many clichés and stereotypes, such as the cheating husband, the broken wife, and an angry female best friend. Plus, the acting tends to be over-the-top and there are too many "dark secrets". The redeeming aspects of this entertaining film are its twists and it adresses an important topic rarely talked about or shown in the cinematic world. Kurt Farquhar composed the music, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas wrote the screenplay, and Bill Duke directed.
