Synopsis
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
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Cast
- Skylan BrooksMister
- Ethan DizonPete
- Jennifer HudsonGloria
- Jordin SparksAlice
- Anthony MackieKris
- Jeffrey WrightHenry
- Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeSergeant Pike
Recommendations
- 75
Washington Post
Under the direction of George Tillman Jr., these two young performers exercise remarkable restraint, never milking the material for unearned tears. - 70
Village Voice
Tillman is clumsy in his handling of a few scenes, and considering what these kids are up against—junkie moms, drug-dealing pimp neighbors—the ending might be a little too implausibly upbeat. But Tillman seems to know that we need to go home feeling hope for Mister and Pete, who, it turns out, aren't so easily defeated. - 70
The Dissolve
The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete is a raw, often moving coming-of-age story. - 70
Los Angeles Times
It is an imperfect film about this imperfect world. But if "Mister & Pete" doesn't make you rethink the social safety net that fails these kids, and so many others like them, book some time with a cardiologist. - 70
The New York Times
[Mr.Tillman] does lovely work here, particularly with the actors, even if his insistent ebullience can feel like a sales pitch. - 63
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
A rough and rough around the edges tale of children growing up on the mean streets of the wrong side of Brooklyn. It’s a coming of age story of a self-absorbed, downtrodden punk with a dream who learns about the love that comes with responsibility. - 60
Time Out
Like its title, Inevitable Defeat is simultaneously gritty and overstuffed, feeling more like the product of first-time screenwriter Michael Starrbury than veteran director George Tillman Jr., though that’s not always for the worse. - 58
IndieWire
While not without its touching moments, "Mister and Pete" is inevitably defeated by its own good intentions.
