Gimme Shelter

My husband and I went to see Gimme Shelter on opening night. We are happy to say it was more than we were hoping for in the telling of this true story. Through so much hardship, sadness and pain, the beautiful young lady inside Agnes (Apple) emerges when love, respect and hope are offered to her. The performance by Vanessa was outstanding! I didn't know who she was before seeing the movie. The movie drew us right into it! We wanted to reach out and help her! We really like James Earl Jones and were glad to see him play the role of the Catholic priest. We are recommending this movie to everyone we know and plan to go back and see it again as well as buy it on DVD! Thanks to the producer of this excellent movie and to the theaters that are showing it around the country!

Not very often does a movie come out that is as powerful and emotional as this one. This movie reveals the pain, confusion,hopelessness and true brute reality many teens and young women live out today. But also there are organizations with the compassion from the victims to help each other survive the ordeal. The movie reveals that showing the mother a photo of the child in the womb and hearing the heartbeat can help the mother understand that life is important and any cost. This has great acting and is not to be confused with some low budget production. But the showing all angles of the family perspective is very important to understand the whole situation. Showing both parents, new children and wife in the Fathers life. Wanting more government assistance in the abusive mothers life and her physical abuse is also displayed. Don't be afraid to see this truth of life, learn and help out the situation.

Gimme Shelter is a touching and moving film, so inspirational that I think people will want to buy more and more tickets to see it. Even though a low budget film, Vanessa Hudgens is stunning on her performance as Apple. She proves that she has completely left her amateur puppy Disney HSM acting and moved on to bigger future roles that will certainly give her a lot of career options, maybe an Oscar too. And why not? In Gimme Shelter, Vanessa Hudgens, as an actress, portrays all the emotions and characteristics that the Academy of Arts want to see. I wont be surprised if I see Hudgens taking at least a nomination for her stunning, breath taking performance. Gimme shelter, in general, is an indie film that captures all the phases of a difficult life in the streets of a city. Maybe a little bit of 8 Mile or Precious, Gimme shelter reminds a bit of these films, but the motion picture still keeps its originality of story and of course performances.

"Gimme Shelter" is not an especially easy movie to watch nor is it fun in any way. After all, the main character, Apple (Vanessa Hudgens) is a teen that's been through it all—physical abuse, sexual abuse, repeated foster homes and a mother with less maternal instincts than a rabid hamster. And, to make it even worse, she's pregnant! One thing is for sure, she cannot stay with her vicious mother (Rosario Dawson)—so the film begins with her running away in search of her father (Brendan Fraser). The problem is that her father has never met her—and his new life is very ordered and his wife isn't especially interested in becoming step-mom to a tattooed, pierced and angry young mother-to-be. So, after an abortive stay with her dad and his family, Apple feels compelled to leave—living on the streets and hoping that somehow it will all work out for the best.

Eventually, this unwanted young lady ends up coming in contact with an old priest (James Earl Jones) and he wants to help. He knows of a home for pregnant teens and convinces her to give it a try. This is no small task, as Apple has learned over her short life that you really cannot trust anyone. While the place turns out to be pretty nice, Apple just cannot accept that anyone could help her without some sort of agenda and you wonder if she'll stay put and have her baby there or, perhaps, on some street corner. Her first instinct is to just run.

I really had to admire the script for "Gimme Shelter", as it manages to seem a lot truer than most stories about troubled teens. Missing are many of the clichés you might think would be and the film can be favorably compared to another great film about a troubled teen, "Precious". And, as a retired social worker and psychotherapist, I have worked on a lot of cases that were similar to this one and it comes off as believable and compelling. It's not always pleasant viewing but it is a high quality film—one you have to see to appreciate.

In addition to a dandy script, what really impressed me was the acting. While Hudgens is in her mid-20s, she managed to pull off a convincing portrait of a scared and almost animalistic teen—and is a much meatier role than she's usually known for doing. Dawson is also a standout. While she was only in the film here and there, she managed to play an incredibly nasty character with great zest and was very convincing. For both roles, both actresses had to make themselves as non-glamorous as possible in order to be true to their characters. Additionally, Fraser's role is a lot more interesting and compelling compared to other roles he's taken such as "George of the Jungle" and "Furry Vengeance" (uggh!).

"Gimme Shelter" is not always pleasant, but it is a film well worth your time. It's also a film well worth seeing with your teen, as the film has a lot you and your kids could talk about when it's complete. Overall, there's really nothing I didn't like about this film—I just don't know if such an earthy and not always pleasant theme will attract many viewers. I sure know it deserves a chance.

"Maybe you're exactly where you need to be." Apple (Hudgens) is a pregnant teenager who escapes her abusive mother (Dawson) and goes to New Jersey in search of her father. After she finds him things don't go as planned. Neither him or his wife think Apple should have the baby so they bring her to a clinic. Knowing that isn't what she wants Apple runs from there and winds up homeless living on the streets and out of garbage until she is taken to a shelter for young pregnant women. Finding that place changes her entire life. After watching the trailer for this I thought I was prepared for how heavy the movie was gonna be. I wasn't. The movie is hard to watch in some parts and knowing that this is based on a true story makes it that much more powerful. The best part and the reason to watch though is Vanessa Hudgens. She so inhabits this character that you forget it's her. She is in a movie with Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser and James Earl Jones and they all struggle to keep up with her. The movie does have the feel of Precious and movies like that so it's not one you can watch over and over but it should be viewed at least once if for no other reason then to see Vanessa Hudgens' performance. Overall, a good and powerful movie with a career making performance by Vanessa Hudgens. I give this a B.