Not Easily Broken (2009)

It Has Meaning This Movie.T.D. Jakes previous novel Women Thou Art Loosed was adapted into an impressive film, five years and his follow up film Not Easily Broken is just as good. Directed by the underrated Bill Duke whose previous work includes Hoodlum and Deep Cover, Not Easily Broken tells the story of a couple (Morris Chestnut & Taraji P. Henson) whose marriage is crisis.After a car accident, injurers Henson's character things only get worse and their marriage but more importantly their faith is tested. I watched the film with my wife. It was a treat to discuss the film with her on the way out of the theater to our car. And during the ride home we came to understand a little more about each other. The acting considering the religious material is first rate, Morris Chestnut displays the same leading man charm he always does and fresh off her Oscar Worthy turn in Benjamin Button, Henson does wonders. Jenifer Lewis steals every scenes he's in as the mother-in-law, and Kevin Hart provides tons of comic relief as a life long friend to Chestnut' s character. Not Easily Brokenis the kind of film that most critics will tear apart. It could be there lack of familiarity for most critics when it comes to the gospel genre.Take for example the similar marriage in crisis themed film Revolutionary Road which is currently in release and stars Kate Winslet& Leonardo Dicarpo. Winslet just won a Golden Globe for her role in Road, while critics roasted Henson's performance in Not Easily Broken.While Winslet's character differs slightly from Henson's in Not Easily Broken both give performances that any women single or married can relate to. While Not Easily Broken does have an overlapping religious theme, anyone no matter what your religious beliefs willing to give this film a chance will be pleasantly surprised. Actors: Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, Maeve Quinlan, Kevin Hart, Wood Harris, Jenifer Lewis.danceability-1, Amsterdam Holland

Not Easily Broken is based off of a novel, which kind of makes you wonder why it wasn't any better. The religious undertones became such a turnoff after a while, I just didn't care anymore.A married couple struggles with their marriage soon after a car accident and rely on faith to bring them back together. That's pretty much the whole story, let alone only one likable character throughout the entire film. Over-dramatics play out their course, and you've got to wonder why the main character is being punished by staying with his bitchy wife when he would clearly be happier with the white woman he forms a bond with.Overall, this is just an unlikable movie if you're not into faith. Despite good performances from Morris Chestnut and Traji P. Henson, there's nothing more to gain from this. However, it isn't agonizing to sit through, though.

My wife and I were disappointed after seeing this movie. Being a TD Jakes movie, we were surprised with the violence, profanity, alcohol use, and disrespect portrayed. We thought this was supposed to be a Christian movie. The plot and (many) issues were poorly developed. The storyline could have gone much deeper on keeping a marriage strong.Our hopes were that we would receive a message on keeping a marriage strong. The message we received was to keep God in our marriage. However, God and Jesus were not mentioned for more than 10 minutes of this movie. Prayer was mentioned briefly.If you are looking for a Christian movie that will move you and focuses on keeping God the center of your marriage, we highly recommend Fireproof. There is no violence, profanity or alcohol use in it. The message gets delivered with out it. We are always willing to support our African American movies, however we feel the $20 could have been spent on something else.

This movie was terrific! Great plot, subplot, writing and acting. Worth the money and would see again. Gender nor race matters when viewing this movie, everyone can relate to the family relationships, friendships, etc. The religious aspect keeps being mentioned when describing this movie but it wasn't over the top or preachy, just real. This movie is great for girls night out, date night or family viewing. The messages can touch anyone. We laughed, cried, said I know that's right, you name it, we experienced the emotion. There aren't very many movies anymore that make you laugh, cry, relate to the people around you and keep you discussing it hours later but "Not Easily Broken" does all of this and more. Deserves much more attention than it will probably receive.