LIFE SUPPORT (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television film, based on a true story, examines the life and work of a recovering addict and HIV/AIDS activist in Brooklyn, New York. The program begins as Ana and the other women in her outreach program discuss their pasts and the bad decisions with drugs and men that led to their infections. At home with her husband Slick and young daughter Kim, Ana prepares for the day and takes her many medications. Her older daughter Kelly lives with her mother, Lucille, and Kelly's longtime friend Amare sneaks into Lucille's house after she leaves, explaining to Kelly that his sister Tracy kicked him out again. Kelly notices that Amare, who is also positive, seems ill, but Amare dismisses her concerns. Ana and the other women discuss their plans for promoting female condoms, and she counsels a young and pregnant Jamaican woman named Deyah who is afraid of telling her husband about her diagnosis. Kelly finds Amare passed out at home and realizes that he is using drugs, but is forced to kick him out before Lucille returns. Ana visits Lucille and Kelly and invites her daughter to a basketball game, but Kelly acts cold towards her. Ana is bothered by it, but Slick tells Ana that Kelly is merely being a normal rebellious teenager. Another woman in the group, Sandra, wonders how to tell her new boyfriend that she is positive, and the group talks about others' varying reactions.
Kelly finds Amare's medicines at Lucille's home, and she tracks down his possible new boyfriend, a record producer named Michael, to ask after Amare's whereabouts. Michael aggressively denies knowing him well, however, stating that he himself is married with children. Ana talks to a group of ladies about using protection and getting tested, explaining that AIDS is the number-one killer of young black women. Kelly seeks out her mother and reluctantly asks for her help, explaining that she is worried about the missing Amare, and Ana offers to talk to Tracy. Tracy says that she can no longer help her self-destructive brother, whom she raised herself after their junkie parents' deaths, and bristles at Ana's accusatory tone. Lucille teaches a class at the language center and then tells Ana that she plans to sell her house and move back to Virginia, saying that Kelly may choose to go with her or stay in New York. Ana is upset, feeling that Lucille is still punishing her for her past, and Lucille calls her out on her selfish attitude. Ana finds Kelly with her new guy, Markus, and embarrasses her by handing the boy a condom. She tells her about Lucille's plan to move, but Kelly is more interested in finding Amare, frustrated at her mother's lack of progress.
At home, Ana and Slick argue about the best plan for Kelly, overheard by Kim. Ana vents her worries about Amare to the outreach group, and she finds a friend of his, Ness, at a church group. Ness explains that Amare has started selling his steroids on the street, and Ana continues searching for him, asking street kids for help and giving them supplies in return. Her own doctor warns her about taking better care of herself, saying that she is damaging her sore feet with too much activity. Kelly and Markus spend an evening together and Kelly spots Amare in a stranger's car, but loses him. Lucille lectures her when she returns home late at night, saying that Amare is trouble and cannot be helped until he is ready for it, much like Ana in the past. Ana is then shocked to learn that Deyah was murdered by her angry husband, and blames herself for not helping the girl. Lucille's house sells quickly and Kelly decides to go with her to Virginia, and Ana is angry when Kelly suggests that Kim should come too and have "a real childhood" out of the city, leading to a fight. Ana then spars with Slick when she tells him what has happened, and they end up arguing about who infected whom when they were both carelessly using drugs years ago. Ana explains to her group that she lost custody of Kelly because of her drug use and feels as though she has missed a lot of her life, despite trying to improve herself.
Ness tells Ana that Amare sometimes works for a producer named MJ2, who turns out to be Michael. Ana confronts him at a nightclub, and when he again denies knowing Amare's whereabouts, she suggests that she will ask his wife for information. He threatens her, but she stands up to him and demands his help in finding Amare, and he agrees to let her know if he hears anything. Slick comes home and the two talk, with Slick pointing out that Ana is stubborn and does not listen, and she promises to work on her flaws, saying she wants them to have a long life together. Michael calls late at night and Ana finds a very ill Amare in the park outside Tracy's home. He tells her about his memories of his drug-using parents and of Kelly's lifelong strength of character, and Ana frantically tries to get Tracy to emerge and help her brother as she calls an ambulance for Amare. Kelly visits him in the hospital as he is treated for pneumonia, and Ana talks to her, admitting her bad habit of putting herself first and not considering Kelly's choices, telling her to be herself and move to Virginia if it feels right. Later, at a rooftop memorial, Ana speaks about those who support and love people with HIV/AIDS, and the group releases red balloons in memory of those who have died, including Deyah and Amare. The film concludes by explaining that the real Ana is still handing out condoms and information in Brooklyn.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: March 10, 2007 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:27:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:91297
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; HIV/AIDS; New York City
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2007
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jamie Foxx … Executive Producer
- Marcus King … Executive Producer
- Queen Latifah … Executive Producer
- Shakim Compere … Executive Producer
- Shelby Stone … Executive Producer
- Jaime Rucker King … Executive Producer
- Mark A. Baker … Producer
- Lance Un Rivera … Associate Producer
- Otis Best … Associate Producer
- Nelson George … Director, Writer
- Jim McKay … Writer
- Hannah Weyer … Writer
- Stuart Matthewman … Music by
- Queen Latifah … Cast, Ana
- Anna Deavere Smith … Cast, Lucille
- Wendell Pierce … Cast, Slick
- Rachel Nicks … Cast, Kelly
- Evan Ross … Cast, Amare
- Gloria Reuben … Cast, Sandra
- Tony Rock … Cast, Ness
- Darrin Dewitt Henson … Cast, MJ2
- Tracee Ellis Ross … Cast, Tanya
- Limary L. Agosto … Cast, Woman #1
- Carlo Alban … Cast, Andre
- Sidné Anderson … Cast, Sister Bernice
- Dorothea Golden … Cast, Peer Counselor #1
- Chyna Layne … Cast, Deyah
- Angel Magee … Cast, Peer Counselor #2
- Carol Magee … Cast, Peer Counselor #3
- Ivone Negron … Cast, Peer Counselor #4
- Rayelle Parker … Cast, Kim
- Lorraine Platt … Cast, Peer Counselor #5
- Cedric Sanders … Cast, Simon
- Brandon Scott … Cast, Markus
- Heather Alicia Simms … Cast, Woman #2
- Myra Lucretia Taylor … Cast, Dr. Cooper
- Willie E. Teacher … Cast, Jean Claude
- Andrea Williams … Cast, Herself
- Charisse Woodall … Cast, Young Woman