The Poker House
| The Poker House | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Lori Petty |
| Produced by | Stephen J. Cannell Michael Dubelko |
| Written by | Lori Petty David Alan Grier |
| Starring | Selma Blair Jennifer Lawrence Bokeem Woodbine David Alan Grier Chloë Grace Moretz |
| Cinematography | Ken Seng |
| Editing by | Tirsa Hackshaw |
| Distributed by | Phase 43 Films |
| Release date(s) |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Poker House is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Lori Petty, in her feature film directorial debut. The film portrays a painful day in the life of a teenage girl who is raising her two younger sisters in their mother's whorehouse.
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Plot [edit]
This film focuses on the dysfunctional life of three sisters. Everyday life is filled with misery, abuse and neglect. They live in a house with their mother Sarah, a drug-addicted prostitute, and her pimp, Duval, a violent pedophile. The house doubles as both a whorehouse and a gambling house. Their father, a minister, used to beat his wife and children. When Sarah gathered her daughters and left, she struggled to make ends meet and wound up a prostitute whose pimp got her addicted to drugs.
Shortly after she turns 14, Agnes is violently raped by Duval, who later suggests to Sarah that they should start pimping her. After the rape, a deeply traumatized Agnes rushes to the bath tub to clean herself. Her mother comes in and Agnes reaches out for her in clear distress, but gets an unemotional drunken response. Agnes threatens to shoot Duval after finding out he now intends to sell her as a prostitute like her mother, who bluntly says she will defend him. Agnes leaves after the altercation and goes to her basketball tournament where she scores 27 points in the second half, a school record that would last for many years. She goes to find her sisters who are at a nearby bridge. She doesn't tell them of the horrific events of the evening, and takes them to go get dinner. Agnes soon moves to New York to pursue a career as an artist.
Cast [edit]
- Jennifer Lawrence as Agnes
- Selma Blair as Sarah
- Chloë Grace Moretz as Cammie
- Bokeem Woodbine as Duval
- Sophia Bairley as Bee
- Danielle Campbell as Darla
- David Alan Grier as Stymie
Jennifer Lawrence's father, Gary Lawrence, appears uncredited in the film as the basketball coach of the other team.[1]
Reception [edit]
Critical response [edit]
The Poker House has received positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10, making the film a "Fresh" on the website's rating system.[2]
References [edit]
- ^ "The Poker House (2008) – Trivia". IMDb. Amazon.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- ^ "The Poker House". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
