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Gimme Shelter (2013 film)

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Gimme Shelter
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRon Krauss
Written byRon Krauss
Produced byRon Krauss
Dama Claire
Jeff Rice
Scott Steindorff
StarringVanessa Hudgens
James Earl Jones
Rosario Dawson
Brendan Fraser
CinematographyEric Steven Kirkland
Edited byMarie-Hélène Dozo
Mark Sult
Music byÓlafur Arnalds
Production
companies
Distributed byRoadside Attractions
Release dates
  • October 17, 2013 (2013-10-17) (Heartland Film Festival)
  • January 24, 2014 (2014-01-24) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,359,910[1]

Gimme Shelter is a 2013 American independent drama film written and directed by Ronald Krauss based on a true story about a pregnant teenager, Apple (Vanessa Hudgens), who runs away from her abusive, drug-addicted mother (Rosario Dawson), and traces her father (Brendan Fraser). Apple's difficult and abusive upbringing, unfortunate situation and her father and his wife's struggle to integrate her into their family result in conflicts. After crashing the car of a pimp who forced her into his vehicle, Apple awakes in hospital where she encounters a Catholic Priest (James Earl Jones) who connects her with a Catholic shelter for pregnant teens that encourages the pregnant girls to have babies.[2][3]

Plot

Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) has never had an easy life. She's been in and out of foster care for years, and her mother June (Rosario Dawson) is an abusive addict who only wants her for the welfare money she provides. She decides to run away and go in search of her absent father, Tom Fitzpatrick (Brendan Fraser), whom she discovers is now a wealthy Wall Street broker with a family. He agrees to take her in, but she's quickly forced out again when he and his wife learn she's pregnant and don't agree with her decision to keep the baby.

When a pimp forces her into his vehicle to discuss "business", Apple jumps into the driver's seat, speeds away and crashes the car. Apple awakes in hospital where the Catholic Priest, Father McCarthy (James Earl Jones), is waiting to speak with her. After gaining her trust Father McCarthy arranges for her to stay in a Catholic home for pregnant teenage girls. The shelter is run by a formerly homeless woman named Kathy (Ann Dowd) and she and the shelter emphasize that the teenage girls should have babies. June is informed that Apple will be staying there and goes to the Catholic home in an attempt to take her to her home, but is forced to leave after she gets violent.

Apple bonds with the other girls at the shelter, beginning to open up and trust them. She gives birth to a baby girl and names her Hope. Tom comes to visit and the two reconcile. He offers to let Apple and Hope come live with him, but as they're leaving Apple realizes she's already made a home for herself at the Catholic home and decides to stay.

Cast

  • Vanessa Hudgens as Agnes "Apple" Bailey
  • Brendan Fraser as Tom Fitzpatrick
  • Ann Dowd as Kathy
  • Rosario Dawson as June Bailey
  • James Earl Jones as Father McCarthy
  • Stephanie Szostak as Joanna Fitzpatrick
  • Candace Smith as Marie Abeanni
  • Emily Meade as Cassandra
  • Natalie Guerrero as Tina
  • Laneya Wiles as Jasmine
  • Dascha Polanco as Carmel
  • Rachel Mattila as Nicky Lotito
  • Gena Bardwell as Afra
  • Tashiana R. Washington as Destiny / Princess
  • Jade Jackson as Tawana
  • Shiela Tapia as Officer Sue
  • Joseph Ferrante as Officer Cole
  • Allen Holloway as Guest Motel
  • Karina Bonnefill as Maternity Nurse
  • Susan Jayne Brown as Maternity Doctor
  • Joe Mancini as Construction Foreman

Production

The film was filmed in New York, and New Jersey. Filming started June 9, 2011.[4]

To prepare for this film, director Ron Krauss lived for over a year in the Several Sources Shelter founded by Kathy DiFlore, and grew to know DiFiore, the shelter, and the two girls Apple Bailey is based on. The film was shot in the home of Kathy DiFiore and the original Several Sources Shelter. [5]

Vanessa Hudgens, in explaining why the story of Apple appealed to her, said, "... it’s very relevant to what’s going on around us and I think that it’s easy to block it out because it’s uncomfortable. It’s something that we don’t want to discuss, but the fact is it’s happening all around us. Young people are becoming homeless and don’t have anywhere to go. Young mothers who have no support and no love and no place to call their own… just so much. I mean, abuse and homelessness, it’s all happening around us way more than we are allowing ourselves to see."[6]

Discussing why her role as Apple's drug-addicted mother June had special meaning for her, Rosario Dawson said, "My mom had me when she was 17. I grew up in a squat in the Lower East Side, and the dropout rate and teen pregnancy rate in my hood was very high. Luckily, my mom had some support and was a good role model. She told me I could be anything I wanted to be. But not everybody gets a happy ending. Some people make some bad choices, and they never, ever recover from them.” [7]

Brendan Fraser and James Earl Jones donated their salaries to the real-life Catholic shelters (Several Sources Shelters) portrayed in the film. [8]

Reception

Gimme Shelter received generally negative reviews from film critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives a film critic score 22% "rotten" based on 66 reviews, with an average score of 4.6/10. The film received an audience score of 66% based on 7,489 reviews with an average score of 3.7/5.

Chicago Reader critic Ben Sachs summed by saying "What remains is a poor man's Precious, with all the earlier film's go-for-broke melodrama but none of its weirdness or empathy for the impoverished."

The film was also criticized for being anti-abortion propaganda. Michael Sragow of the Orange County Register said "The result is awkward, hyped propaganda for faith-based initiatives and against abortion."

On www.rogerebert.com, critic Sheila O'Malley rated the film 2 1/2 stars out of 3, saying the "scenes between Dawson and Hudgens vibrate with pain and ugliness. The script is often obvious, with all feelings laid out too cleanly, but both actresses still manage to create a jagged relationship based on their characters' codependence and shared traumas. One of the film's strengths is its portrayal of the 'system' and what it does to abused children, and the layers of bureaucracy that make it hard to bring about meaningful change in people's lives." [9]

References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gimmeshelter.htm
  2. ^ Kit, Boris (2011-04-29). "Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser to Star in Indie Drama 'Gimme Shelter' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  3. ^ "Movie Audition – teen girl 'Gimme Shelter'". Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  4. ^ "New York Production Listings". Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  5. ^ Exclusive: Director Ronald Krauss Talks Gimme Shelter, by David Crow, January 28, 2014
  6. ^ Interview With Vanessa Hudgens On Gimme Shelter, by Ben Kember, January 24, 2014
  7. ^ Rosario Dawson found special meaning in playing a down-and-out mom in 'Gimme Shelter': The actress, who has starred in films like 'Rent' and Spike Lee's '25th Hour,' grew up in a squat on the Lower East Side, by David Fear, New York Daily News, January 19, 2014
  8. ^ "The Surprising Gimme Shelter: Ron Krauss talks about his powerful pro-life film," by Anne Morse, January 25, 2014
  9. ^ Gimme Shelter, review by Sheila O'Malley, www.rogerebert.com, January 24, 2014
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