[Movie Review] Gimme Shelter (2014)
Plot Summary: A pregnant teenager flees her abusive mother in search of her father, only to be rejected by her dad and forced to survive on the streets until a compassionate stranger offers a hopeful alternative.
Director: Ron Krauss
Writer: Ron Krauss
Runtime: 100 min
Main Cast:
- Vanessa Hudgens as Agnes "Apple" Bailey
- Rosario Dawson as June Bailey
- Brendan Fraser as Tom Fitzpatrick
- Stephanie Szostak as Joanna Fitzpatrick
- James Earl Jones as Frank McCarthy
Review: by Lee
Going into the theater, I knew nothing about Gimme Shelter other than the scant and usually faulty information found in its IMDB description, but one of the representatives who was hosting the screening, from a Christian radio station, prepped the audience by saying it was a great film for believers with strong, pro-life, family messages. She warned us to get our tissues ready because she'd heard that it held nothing back in portraying the hardships of the characters. I was sufficiently excited.
What I Liked:
Given the introduction that the rep gave us, I was looking for Christian themes and was mildly pleased to see that actual biblical references were made to the sovereignty of God, though it wasn’t called that. James Earl Jones’s character, Father McCarthy, introduced the concept to Apple (Vanessa Hudgens), suggesting that her suffering was not evidence that God was neglecting her.
The acting, as a whole, was decent enough. It was really good to see Brendan Fraser in a film and even better to see him as a serious character. James Earl Jones was also a nice addition, though a bit unnecessary. It was a shock to see quite how old he’s gotten, but it’s great to see that he is still acting.
The make-up and wardrobe department did a fabulous job on both Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson. Vanessa Hudgens, throughout the first half of the movie, was almost unrecognizable.
What I Didn’t Like:
I would probably have been happier with the movie had I not known beforehand that Vanessa Hudgens was playing the main character. The makeup would have fooled me, and I wouldn’t have had to remember the tragedy that was Spring Breakers. It was troublesome to me that the film was Christian-themed but its star was fresh from bearing all in the free-for-all of depravity that was Spring Breakers.
On top of her lack of suitability, she wasn’t great. Her portrayal of the rough-around-the-edges Apple was just not believable. She didn’t begin to be decent until the second half of the movie, where her character begins to change.
Also, while the movie had Christian themes, they were not explicit and the characters didn’t really buy into them in a way that was obvious. Having been led to believe, by the representative, that the movie was great for believers, I was disappointed by the lack of Christ in the film. I may have enjoyed it much more without the prep.
Summary
The movie, while the story was interesting, was nothing spectacular, and the acting was not enough to carry the movie very far. With less expectations, I probably would have thought it was better.
Images Courtesy of IMDB
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