The Poker House

A little hard to follow early on, could be tighter directing. But overall, a beautiful movie.

I enjoyed this movie from beginning until the end. Perhaps due to the evocative nature of the film and my own very early childhood. Like Adele, the lead character and narrator of the film, it fell upon me at way too young an age, after a parental separation, to pick up the pieces, both figuratively and literally. This film is so surprisingly different than anything else that Lori Petty has done in film that I was startled to find out that it was indeed the Lori Petty from Tank Girl who penned and directed this film. A tale of religion gone wrong and a mother who couldn't deal with the consequential aftermath, a tale of a girl old beyond her years, searching for a tender love that couldn't be bargained; I wish that you see this film and take from it the hope that it inspires, the longing that children have for a pure love and the understanding that you can't always get what you want or even what you need.

Story of a little girl, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who lived in "The Poker House", something like a house where they are, pimps, drugs, gambling, that sort of thing. A drama that reflects basically how it was to live there, with her sisters and mother.

I found a good story, besides that is told by the same person who lived it, which makes it much more real, and they are many emotions in this film, which could reflect only living something like that.

For this movie Jennifer Lawrence won an award for an outstanding performance. Thing with which I also agree, because she embody the character with enough personality and gave him a very real touch to it.

Agnes: "I race the sun home in the morning, and the moon up at night. Anything can happen, and anything does. There's just today, and then there's tonight. And tonight is wonderful"

A person's life is made up of many stories, and this is just one story from Lori Petty's life, but it's told with all the style of John Steinbeck. Speaking of style, something which is lacking in so many films today, even great ones, THE POKER HOUSE is done with an amazing amount of it, and the only thing you get more of than style in this movie is the incredible performances and characterizations of Jennifer Lawrence, Sophia Bairley, Chloe Moretz, and Selma Blair, an excellent supporting cast, and a to-die-for script. The final scene of this movie is not an ending, it's a beginning, and it's so powerful I jumped to my feet while watching it. Lori Petty has an incredible grasp of the art of visual storytelling. I can't wait to see what she does next.

It's one day in 1976 Council Bluffs, Iowa. Agnes (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 14 year old living in a dysfunctional house. Her family escaped her abusive preacher father. Her sister Bee hopes to get into a foster home. Her youngest sister Cammie (Chloë Grace Moretz) sleeps at a friend's and spends her day at a bar with drunk Stymie (David Alan Grier). Her mother Sarah (Selma Blair) has fallen into prostitution and drug-abuse. She considers her mother's pimp Duval (Bokeem Woodbine) as her boyfriend. The house is a gathering place for criminals to play poker and known locally as the Poker House.

Director Lori Petty brings her personal story to the screen. It's a harrowing story. It needs an expert to focus the story onto Agnes. It's a bit scattered. It's got some great young future stars and has great potential. JLaw does some big acting. She is always compelling. Petty really needs a professional writer to focus this material more.