Synopsis

After serving time, Michelle Jordan is released to a halfway house and required to attend revival services. There, encounters with people from her past force her to confront years of childhood abuse, addiction, poverty, and imprisonment. With guidance from Bishop T.D. Jakes, Michelle begins a painful journey toward forgiveness, spiritual renewal, and freedom from the burdens that shaped her life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is adapted from T.D. Jakes' self-help book of the same name, but its story centers on the fictional character Michelle Jordan rather than presenting a direct screen version of the book.

• A gospel stage play titled Woman Thou Art Loosed! preceded the film. Tyler Perry wrote, directed, and produced that stage production.

• The film was shot in South-Central Los Angeles in approximately 12 days, an unusually compressed schedule for a feature-length drama.

• T.D. Jakes appears as himself, allowing the film's religious message to be delivered through the real-life minister whose book inspired the project.

• The title refers to Jesus' command to a distressed woman to release her burdens, a theme reflected in Michelle's struggle to overcome trauma and guilt.

• Although the film uses a faith-based framework, its subject matter includes sexual abuse, drug addiction, poverty, and incarceration. The end credits emphasize that Michelle is fictional but that similar experiences are real.

• The production was backed by private investors, including Danny Glover and attorney Johnnie Cochran.

• Woman Thou Art Loosed premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival before Magnolia Pictures released it theatrically in the United States on October 22, 2004.

• Made on a reported $3 million budget, the film earned approximately $6.8 million in theaters.

• The film received recognition from the NAACP Image Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Black Reel Awards, and the American Black Film Festival.

• A sequel, Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day, was released in 2012.