Danielle Brooks was great ! However could've been greater but I felt like she wasn't directed right. Reading some of Mahalia's story key characters missing from this story ! From what I have read she never spoke to Mildred after their falling out so that end scene is disappointing and then a very abrupt ending!!! I understand this is TV movie therefore will not have the same level of budget as movie however just felt like it could have been great movie the potential was there ! It felt censored almost ! I would've like to see more about her involvement in civil rights movement her relationship with JFK etc.

I'm not a big fan of gospel music; it all depends on the singer; anything too shrill, or bordering on shouting would immediately turn me off. This might not be the greatest movie, but keep in mind this was produced for TV, and I expect a much lower budget than a Hollywood production. I also didn't expect to see a complete copy of Mahalia herself as she was a one-off, but Danielle Brooks provides an excellent vocal portrayal of Mahalia. Danielle, like Mahalia, is a contralto, a Juilliard School graduate who appeared in the Broadway musical The Color Purple alongside Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holliday, both of whom had complimented Danielle on her vocal abilities at the time. You would not expect a TV movie to cover every aspect of Mahalia's life from beginning to end, but it does an adequate job of covering most of the key moments in her life from childhood onward. Playing the character well, Danielle conveys the passion and perseverance to overcome those obstacles that Mahalia encountered in her life, from her aunt to her feckless first husband to rejections of her southern vocal style. So she did have that grit in her character to present herself as a vocalist in the way that she herself felt comfortable with the bounce in the rhythms provided by her longtime pianist, Mildred Falls. As a person, she had her flaws like all of us, and yes, it was sad that she treated Mildred the way she did when she approached Mahalia to ask for a raise in her pay. This is often the way with great artists, who can become transfixed on themselves and their public persona. However, Danielle does convey that Mahalia stuck to her standards and beliefs throughout her life, not allowing the pressure of people or circumstances to waver from how she wanted to be as an individual. The songs Danielle covers in the movie, from Mahalia's very first minor hit to the other well-known standards featured on her albums and in her concerts, she does a brilliant job of, and some of them really rock along; it is certainly not boring. I agree that Martin Luther King's portrayal comes across as a bit limp, certainly at one point when the character is wearing his hat at a jaunty angle. Yes, M. L. K sometimes wore a hat, but always in the usual traditional way. So, this is the one part where the cast and the acting could have been a bit stronger, as I'm sure M. L. K had just as much presence in private as he did in public. I really liked the film, and I would certainly watch it again, as the musical content delivered by Danielle is the strongest part of the whole production.