The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

"Only the strong Rise Above."

2013 1h 48m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

84%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 90🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 6,385

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Only the strong Rise Above.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Skylan Brooks
Mister
Ethan Dizon
Pete
Jennifer Hudson
Gloria
Jordin Sparks
Alice
Anthony Mackie
Kris
Jeffrey Wright
Henry
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Sergeant Pike
Michael Chmiel
Clerk

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Tillman Jr.
Writers: Michael Starrbury
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Tillman Jr., shot by Reed Morano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alicia Keys. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jamie Kirkpatrick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Skylan Brooks and Ethan Dizon and Jennifer Hudson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Only the strong Rise Above.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2113075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 90 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Tillman Jr. directs. Reed Morano behind the camera. Alicia Keys scores. Jamie Kirkpatrick cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 13 years ago.
2Directed by George Tillman Jr., shot by Reed Morano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Alicia Keys. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Jamie Kirkpatrick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Skylan Brooks and Ethan Dizon and Jennifer Hudson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Only the strong Rise Above.".
7IMDB entry: tt2113075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 90 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Reed Morano
Original score: Alicia Keys
Editing: Jamie Kirkpatrick
Production design: Jane Musky
Costume design: Charlese Antoinette Jones
Makeup / hair: Daniel Green Jr.
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 6,385 votes
MPAA: R
US box office: $494,608

Awards

10 nominations total

Also by

George Tillman Jr.

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-11-23
★ 7/10
Between the parent's absence and the child protective service, the struggle lies! This is a wonderful film, but not the first time I'm seeing. I mean there's a similar film called 'Children of Invention' about two Chinese-American kids. So this film tells the similar story about two kids whose parents were drug addicts. After they were taken by the cops, the two boys try to live by themselves, struggling to feed and hiding all day and night long from the authorities. But how long this thing can go and with a little message, the story comes to an end. I won't say it was better than the other title I mentioned, but surely well developed than that. Still, I did not like the conclusion. There are some flawed parts like the shopkeeper trying to avenge in front of the cops. Yet the overall film was kind of realistic. That approach is what I liked from this. The two lead kids were brilliant. The entire film revolves around them, basically the camera never takes off the lens from them. At some point it gets emotional, but the negativity was actually telling the truth. I mean the child welfare is to protect them, but not in this film, any film around the world, they are portrayed like they are the child snatchers. Like a boogeyman. That must change which is in the hands of the organisation to alter their approach to handling such situation. Definitely it is a must see film, despite a few defects. The theme was strong with drugs and sex references, so I think it is not suitable for the kids, despite two kids in the lead. But I think it would work if they were supervised by their parents. 7/10

Production companies