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I'd bet a lot of white people look at this movie at first glance in a 'Blindside' type of way. This isn't a black movie or a white movie or a white guilt type of movie or exploitation type of movie.

The Inevitable defeat of Mister and Pete is just a good movie about a young boy with dreams, in a terrible spot. His mother is doped out, he lives in a rough neighborhood and there is no way for things to get better (even though he aspires to become an actor and make a better life for himself).

When the police crack down on the drug trade in his neighborhood, his mother is picked up. Mister and Pete (the young boy who was staying at his apartment because his mother was on a binge) spend the summer trying to survive and stay out of riverside orphanage.

A hallowing story about life--not black life or the ghetto, a story about life when things are bad and all that matters is surviving, the Inevitable defeat of Mister and Pete takes the viewer into a world they most likely never see.

This movie had a great message of survival and perseverance and hope and left me believing, if I just keep living and fighting, everything will work out.

The dialogue at times was a little forced, I felt, to convey the situation of helplessness--but I can live with that, as the script on a whole was pretty good. It's hard to convey so much with just dialogue and I thought the writer, Michael Starrbury did a pretty good job.

It was well Directed, but George Tillman Jr has proved he is an elite director imo.

Skylan Brooks (Mister) probably set himself up to be in countless movies in the future and I'd like to see him in a comedy next.

Jennifer Hudson, even though she didn't have that many lines was able to fulfill her role perfectly.

This was a good movie and definitely worth the time it took to watch it.

Poor minorities forced to struggle while trying to survive is what you have to look forward too. When children are involved, it hits home a little harder. The subject matter is no stranger to us. The Grapes of Wrath is where Steinbeck took us and we got large doses of prejudice, poverty and hopelessness delivered to us in a book and movie form. Here however we are exposed to the grittiness and underside of the problem mixed with crime and degradation through drug addiction to make the poverty point. I am sure anyone watching this may have a flashback or two of their own upbringing and either say I can relate or there go I but for the grace of God. It will move you that way. The young stars did excellent job and not once did they stare into the camera or let you believe they were acting. You were living it as they were and that is worth a mention. Yes to seeing this movie and it is worth the price of a ticket. Yes to definitely having a snack, tasty drink and finger foods. Parts will move you and cause you to really know...this is real and because of that may be lightly disturbing for some...Good because that is how change comes about

I saw this film at Sundance and the cast and crew got about four standing ovations. People who raved about Fruitvale said this film tops it. This a great film! This film is a cross between Spike Lee's Clockers (1995) and Hirokazu Koreeda's Nobody Knows (2004), with a bit of Fresh (1994) mixed in. Based on a true story, Nobody Knows portrays siblings who are abandoned by their mother and forced to survive on their own. Resiliency is a trait of many urban kids. Even in tragedy they were just kids. Mister and Pete doesn't try to let the audience "off the hook". The performances pull you in, or at least it did for me.

I was surprised to see how low the ratings were for this film.

You may have two female singers turned actors, you may have Anthony Mackie and Jeffrey Wright (in roles you might not expect them, especially the former), but the real stars are the two kids. It's amazing how they play their roles. This movie is really gripping and it's all because of the two children who make this movie. The casting people and whoever else was responsible for getting them cannot get enough praise for the job they did.

Same as mentioned above goes for the children, but also the script and the directing. You never feel like you are being preached at and it still manages to convey its message. On the disc I watched there are a few deleted scenes, which are also worth watching. Some might even say, they should've been in the movie too. That's for you to judge, but won't take anything from the impact of the movie, only enhance it

For some reason we missed this movie when it came out in 2013 so we just watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

As the movie opens we see 13-yr-old Mister (yes, that is actually his first name) in class, looking gloomily at a paper with an "F" grade, it looked as if he surely was going to repeat 8th grade in his Brooklyn public school. Then when we see him at home it appears that his mother is using drugs again, needle and spoon nearby. When she takes him out to eat he discovers her in the men's room, on her knees, servicing a man in a stall.

Mister has a very unusual life among the crooks, prostitutes, pimps, and drug dealers in his neighborhood. He is always angry but we see he has a core of good in him, he wants to escape his situation, he finds a leaflet for auditions on August 7th for a role in a production in California. He fashions himself as an actor and often recites scenes from the movie "Fargo". He starts telling others he will be moving to the West Coast soon.

This is a coming of age story of two boys, Mister and his younger friend Pete whose mother is in a similar situation as Mister's mom. When the moms get arrested the boys attempt to fend for themselves, live in the apartment alone, dodge the police, stay out of the juvenile home for boys like them. For a while.

Skylan Brooks is in the role of Mister, Ethan Dizon is his young friend Pete. Mister's mom is played well by Jennifer Hudson as Mom Gloria. The movie is often hard to watch because we know there really are children and families in situations like this in large cities, just struggling to survive. But it does end with a few rays of hope for Gloria and the boys.

A story of two kids fending for themselves in the tough surroundings of the projects in New York.

All around brilliant acting by the cast, well worth a watch.

I was lucky to see this at the Milwaukee Film Festival with the director, writer and two leads in attendance. The children who play the 2 main characters gave incredibly honest and nuanced performances, especially considering the harsh reality of the characters. Skylan Brooks has some real acting chops and I can't wait to see what he does next.

Apparently it took quite a while to get the film funded and then distributed - until some bigger names like Jennifer Hudson signed on, they studios responded saying "No one will pay to see a film about inner city children." This film, however, is not only important (because of its oft overlooked subjects) but also beautifully told with compelling characters. I found myself laughing as well as gasping in shock, sitting on the edge of my seat, and tearing up.

Even 5 days after seeing it, I'm still thinking about it and how this story plays out every day. Now that's a well told story!

the movie all in all was a really good movie, it actually brought tears to my eyes. It's funny, it leaves you in suspense and it also leaves you in tears. I loved the plot, but it left a LOT of unanswered questions....

What happened to Pete? What happened to Alise? Did they move back to the projects? and again...what happened to Pete?

Pete was one of the main characters so this really makes no sense. Alise just left and never came back - was she killed or something? (I guess we'll never know)

Will there be a 2nd series to this movie?

This movie is all around amazing! (Acting was phenomenal!) It's so moving and so gut wrenchingly realistic, it's mind blowing. It pulls so many emotions from you at once, it will leave you breathless. I would recommend this film to anyone regardless of race or class because this story transcends all those lines. I especially recommend it for teachers, parents, and those children who are mature enough to handle the subject matter because this is something that should be discussed with the younger generation.

I saw this movie at a private screening and we had a Q&A afterwards. It was very interesting to hear people's opinion (some of whom were from similar backgrounds as the two boys ) and see how it affected the entire audience was.

This is a wonderful film, but not the first time I'm seeing. I mean there's a similar film called 'Children of Invention' about two Chinese-American kids. So this film tells the similar story about two kids whose parents were drug addicts. After they were taken by the cops, the two boys try to live by themselves, struggling to feed and hiding all day and night long from the authorities. But how long this thing can go and with a little message, the story comes to an end.

I won't say it was better than the other title I mentioned, but surely well developed than that. Still, I did not like the conclusion. There are some flawed parts like the shopkeeper trying to avenge in front of the cops. Yet the overall film was kind of realistic. That approach is what I liked from this. The two lead kids were brilliant. The entire film revolves around them, basically the camera never takes off the lens from them.

At some point it gets emotional, but the negativity was actually telling the truth. I mean the child welfare is to protect them, but not in this film, any film around the world, they are portrayed like they are the child snatchers. Like a boogeyman. That must change which is in the hands of the organisation to alter their approach to handling such situation. Definitely it is a must see film, despite a few defects. The theme was strong with drugs and sex references, so I think it is not suitable for the kids, despite two kids in the lead. But I think it would work if they were supervised by their parents.

7/10

Masterfully told, poignant and memorable, this film was an emotional home run. Every character was vivid and raw, especially the compassion-evoking, young lead, "Mister." Jennifer Hudson was just short of brilliant in her portrayal of a troubled, desperate mother, spiraling out of control, plagued by the repercussions of too many poor choices. This film is grittily realistic, thanks to a near-perfect cast and superb, thoughtful storytelling. Love it.

Well told,well directed humanizing story of inner city ghetto life with admirable acting by Skylab Brooks.

I loved this movie! the acting was amazing, it was beautifully written and directed and the soundtrack is amazing. definitely one of my favorites this year. I loved that it is a contemporary story about what it must be like to be hungry in America and living on the edge of poverty but it is never heavy handed or melodramatic. there have been a ton of really good African American films released this year but this is the only one which is based in the here and the now versus a history lesson of one sort or another. It is also unique in that it is from a kid's perspective which is innocent and less bleak than an adult's. Also there is a great new song from Alicia keys at the end of the movie which has never been released.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete was a very emotional movie. It portrays the real life struggles some children have to go through and how they persevered to make it out. This movie is one of my favorite movies because it is so realistic. Both of the children were on their own without their mothers and like it or not, all they had was each other. They grew a beautiful bond and learned how to survive on their own in the toughest conditions. Mister and Pete scrambled all around the city by their selves to not end up in foster care. They were faced with many obstacles and still made it threw as young as they were. This movie teaches perseverance and strength. It also shows you that you are never alone even though you may feel like it.

This is a movie about life that actually happens in the USA. Kids that have to grow up fast because they have drug addicted parents and they work hard to avoid going into foster care. It's a sad reality that even in 2021 kids are being the parents to their uneducated, drug using parents. The kids of today are future leaders of tomorrow! Sad movie, but a good one to remind you that when you see a kid/teen in need, they are not really a bad kid. They just might need some help.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (2013)

A deeply thoughtful movie about two charming kids who end up going it alone in the projects when their addicted mother is taken away. We are taken into the bowels of a pretty realistic low income housing world in New York City. The portrayal of the dangers might actually be watered down a bit, and it feels weirdly depopulated a lot of time, but the squalor and the general grim feeling works.

What clinches this movie, and no one will argue this, is the performances of both the leading actors, Mister and Pete. Mister, an African-American kid with thoughtful eyes, is about 12 and he's weirdly calm and sanguine through all the disasters. Pete, an Asian kid with sweet innocence written all over him, is a few years younger and needs Mister's protection. The odd but true friendship between the two is a lot of the movie, but the way each has to deal with the outside world in a series of difficult (and ugly and profane) incidents is what gives it depth.

It's fair to say this movie, and its African-American director George Tillman, have been overlooked. See it. It may not take creative leaps and it may not push every button at exactly the right time, but it has the sincerity and stunning leading actors to make it an important new film.

There are films like Tiny Furniture that detail a spoiled and ungrateful demographic that has all they can desire but still has the nerve to complain about trivialities in their lives. Then there are films like The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete that detail a demographic that has nothing but the clothes on their backs, local acquaintances, and the motivation of survival to get them through the day. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is a bleak, bleak film with one heartwrenching scene after another that depict a frighteningly inevitable sadness that looms over the characters of the film like a dark storm cloud.

The film takes place during a summer in the projects of New York City that has been graced with a miserable heatwave. Where center on thirteen-year-old Mister (Skylan Brooks), who lives with his heroin-addicted mother Gloria (Jennifer Hudson), who prostitutes to get by in her rough neighborhood. Mister's only companion is a nine-year-old Korean boy named Pete (Ethan Dizon), whose mother is always absent and whom looks to Mister as an older brother. After Gloria is taken by police, the two spend their summer trying to evade child protective services and living life cooped up in a small, empty apartment.

Through these children, we get an intimate portrait of what it's like not to live in the projects but survive in them. The area is incredibly tumultuous, shady adults and ominous characters lurk on every street corner, and there's almost no hope of ever escaping or rising above this morose landscape. Returning to my opening paragraph, say people outside of the United States, who weren't wholly knowledgeable on the current state of the US poverty conditions, the income inequality, or the economy, saw Tiny Furniture. They'd probably see a large part of the country as affluent and ungrateful degenerates who don't know how good they have it compared to others. Now what if we showed them The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete? If anything, I think we'd break down any preconceived stereotypes that many people in the United States don't live lavish lives of royalty, but instead, day-by-day, struggling to survive, in the self-proclaimed "greatest country in the world." But this is just one of the several reasons why The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is such a wonderful drama, bursting at the seams with stone-cold honesty and depictions of far-too-common hardships in the working class sector of urban landscapes.

At the center of the film is Skylan Brooks, who is the actor the entire film rests on. For a debut performance, Brooks could not have a bigger challenge, but he handles it superbly, painting the picture of a kid who is down but certainly not out. However, Brooks' Mister is undoubtedly vulnerable in this land, no matter the face he puts on. We almost consistently wait for the young kid to crack and breakdown, but he continues to keep on going through trying circumstances. By his side quite frequently is Ethan Dizon, whose performance is mostly wrapped in innocence and tender, young-boy geniality. He is a young boy who wouldn't hurt a fly, and occasionally seems out of the loop. But Dizon knows exactly how to portray this character with effectiveness so as not to make a helpless sidekick.

Frequently, the film reminded me of Alex Kotlowitz's There are No Children Here, a novel that meticulously detailed the lives of a family who lived in the Henry Horner Apartments, a former-public housing project in Chicago. The title came from the mother of the two boys the story focused on, and basically meant that because of all the young children have seen in their life - rape, murder, drugs, violence, gangs, among several other things - they were not children. They were practically adults because their innocence was taken at such a tender age they never had that blissful, childlike ignorance that almost all children have.

The children of the projects are totally different from the children of the suburbs, obviously, and writer Michael Starrbury makes strong note of that. While suburban children may ask their friends, "want to play at the park?" or even, "what did you think of school today," the characters of The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete ask one another, "is it okay to not love your mom?" and receive a response of, "you can't help but love her, but you can not like her."

Some will remark on the film's events as elements of emotional manipulation and desperate attempts by Starrbury and director George Tillman, Jr. to make us teary-eyed. I have seen many emotionally manipulative films in my day, and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete doesn't classify as one of them because of the fact that it shows the reality of the situation in the projects. It shows what the news reports dare not penetrate. This film tells a story of survival by two kids who keep getting kicked down and tormented by horrid luck and a lackluster surrounding but persist on through thick-and-thin. Starrburry and Tillman, Jr. don't seem to care if you cry; they just care that you watch, listen, and learn.

"Is it OK not to love your mom?" Mister (Brooks) is having a tough time at school not only fitting in but with his grades as well. When he leaves the only place he has to go is home, to his drug addicted and basically absent mother Gloria (Hudson). One day he comes home to find Pete, a kid he knows in his room. Gloria informs Mister they will be taking care of him for a few days but no one sees what is coming next. First of all I have to start by saying this is a fantastic movie but hard to watch. I would compare it to Precious in that way. This one deals with how the kids take care of themselves in the only way they know how rather then living with an abusive mother. The movie is emotionally draining but very much worth seeing especially for the kid playing Mister. He was amazing in this and deserves some sort of nomination. He really brings powerful emotions to this and even when he breaks the law in some scenes you are still rooting for him. I can not say enough about this movie and it deserves to be seen by a larger audience then it will get. Overall, emotionally draining but a must see movie. I highly recommend this. I give it an A.

We have to ask ourselves - IF, I/You grew up like that, in those circumstances, what would WE be like ? How would WE handle it? What would WE do? . . Ever since the mid 60s, LBJ, Civil Rights Act, Dims have 'promised' Minorities ''we will fix you''...........AND ...NOTHING has changed. Sad.

I'm usually not a fan of inner-city dramas, but this one is different. There's no overt political message--in fact, in that regards it comes off more like an impassive documentary: you are the disembodied eye, witnessing the lives of two young abandoned cubs as they struggle to survive in one of the harshest environments in the country. There's no finger-pointing, no cliché'd "bad guy"...in fact, (almost) everyone is a "bad guy" at one point or another, except for Pete (the voice of innocence, acquainted to the local Hell by a more seasoned Mister).

The acting by the two young heroes is fantastic--particularly from Skylan Brooks, who (I'm sure) will be gracing our screen for decades to come.

The directing is both solid and refreshing--Mr. George Tillman Jr.'s style features is a wonderful change from today's prevalent "cut to another scene every half seconds" style. He's not afraid to dwell on a seemingly-unrelated scene to fill in atmosphere, and he doesn't insult the audience by explaining what is clearly implied. His is a name worth remembering as well.

This movie is well worth a watch--I doubt many will find fault with it, as it shares some resonance with almost everyone.