The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

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.

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.

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 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!

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.