The non-linear story begins with a tired Odette Henry (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) sitting under a tree. She tells how her pregnant mother, worried about the arrival of baby Odette, asked for help from a witch who recommended that she sit on a sycamore tree. That’s where Odette was born. Since then, she’s been fearless. Through her eyes, we jump to 1968: Odette (Kyanna Simone plays her in her younger years) dreams of becoming a nurse, while her best friend Clarice (Abigail Achiri), a talented pianist, seems destined for a recording career. The couple befriend Barbara Jean (Tati Gabrielle) and, after the death of her alcoholic mother, save her from her abusive stepfather by finding her a home with Earl (Tony Winters) and his wife in their family-owned diner.
These early scenes are some of the film’s strongest, creating a believable connection between these seemingly disparate people that aptly gives them the nickname “The Supremes” many have given them. But as we move into their adulthood and later years, the film unravels so quickly that it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where this initially entertaining film went off the rails.
The early scenes, set in the late 1960s, have plenty of flair. The period costumes are colorful and varied, leaning toward bright yellows and oranges. There’s some steaminess, too. Barbara Jean, for example, falls in love with Chick Carlson (Ryan Paynter) – a white busboy who works for Earl and is also a victim of physical abuse. Within the racist milieu, Chick’s brother is a crazed, violent fanatic; the love between Chick and Barbara Jean creates a fascinating tension that the film confusingly lets fall away.
Instead of telling the simple story of an unlikely friendship, the film goes too far. When we jump to the present, all the women are processing deep wounds. Earl, their father figure, has died, leaving behind his superstitious widow (Donna Biscoe) and his sensible son. Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan) is spiraling into alcoholism after her current husband Lester (Vondie Curtis-Hall) died suddenly. Clarice (Uzo Aduba) has given up on her dream of becoming a pianist and now it seems her husband Richmond (Russell Hornsby) is cheating on her. Odette has a wonderful, healthy marriage with James (Mekhi Phifer). But her life is turned upside down by a sudden diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the plot’s many surprises.
