One Moment Can Change It All

Beautiful Ballad had the opportunity to attend a screening of Ron Krauss’ Gimme Shelter, staring Vanessa Hudgens, Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser, and James Earl Jones. Following the true-life story of Agnes “Apple” Bailey, Gimme Shelter chronicles the struggles of drug use and abuse, teen pregnancy, and the quest for family.

Hudgens stars as Apple, and she continues to shed her Disney roots by tackling grittier screen roles. She’s almost unrecognizable as Apple: dirty, poorly dressed, and anything but glamorous. The opening scenes of the film find her running away from her drug-addicted mother (Dawson). Here, the film looks to be promising. Now that Apple has run away, there seems to be a plethora of ways to tell her story- stylistic choices that will create a detailed, nuanced picture of Apple’s life. However, Krauss ignores the opportunity to delve into serious originality, and instead decides to paint the scene and draw his characters in the broadest strokes possible. Everyone is a cliché, every scene is heavy-handed and melodramatic, which takes away from the content of the story.

Apple’s father, portrayed by Brendan Fraser is perhaps the worst cliché in the whole movie. He’s not just distant, he’s filthy rich.  He works on Wall Street, lives in a palatial home with his shrew of a wife that comes complete with a full staff of house servants, and he practically forces Apple to have an abortion.  The film is trying to make a point about the life Apple is leading versus the life she could have lead, but that notion is lost in all the theatricality.

The only character who truly shines in the film is James Earl Jones’ chaplain, Father McCarthy, whom Apple meets in the hospital. Jones brings warmth and energy to each scene he is in, something this film desperately needs. His rational, easy-going demeanor is a welcome respite from Apple’s angst.

Gimme Shelter is a film that set out to tell the story of Apple Bailey. Although it’s based on a true story, the film lacks the depth and detail that could make it so much better. It often feels like a five-minute synopsis of one woman’s life was drawn out into a feature-length film. The cast of this film did a decent job with the material they were given. It’s just a shame that the base script and story were so underdeveloped.

Grade: C-