Oprah Winfrey produces and stars in this weepy TV movie about how ghastly some parents can be. Set in the Sixties, the bleak plot features a drunken wife (Ellen Barkin), with a drunken husband (John Savage) - who frequently beats her and kills himself later - and four children who are beaten by mom. Into this dismal scenario comes Oprah as a woman called Miss Zora, who brings a little sunshine into the life of the youngest child (a sensitive performance by Tina Majorino). It's excellently played by all concerned, but the whole story is unfortunately left hanging in mid-air.

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