Rob Peace's story is strong, intense, challenging, full of challenges and linked to structural racism. The protagonist is a clear star on the rise, the secondary characters have important roles, especially the father who is the great catalyst for Rob's decline and I also have to praise Camila Cabello. She had a small but important participation and was impactful, with her sensitivity and honestly shut my mouth because I was ready to criticize her due to being a pop singer but I'm happy that she showed that she has great potential, despite a weaker script, she managed to stand out in her scenes and made it clear that she has potential in her acting career. Jay and Camila seemed to have great chemistry and I felt like seeing more of them together. It was good to have a small part about how Rob had a romantic relationship to show that there were not only conflicts and he could be happy beyond his family.
3 Reviews
Incredible True Story
nealetrangucci11 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Great retelling of a wonderful book: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. St. Benedict's Prep School (where much of the story takes place) is a legendary institution. If you liked this story, google St. Benedict's on 60 Minutes. You will see how this school changed the life of Robert Peace - and countless other young inner-city men. Unfortunately, the Robert Peace story shows that no matter how great an institution is, you can't save everyone. But to save any child, we have to deal with matters of the heart. Kids cannot be expected to thrive and learn if their psychological needs are not first addressed. Failing to do so risks generations of underserved kids.
Good intentions but weak
chenp-5470829 January 2024
Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
This movie is an example where just because an actor is very talented, doesn't mean they are worthy of directing movies. Chiwetel Ejiofor has directed "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" which I thought was decent but "Rob Peace", despite having good intentions, falls short due to the weak narrative, uninteresting characters and repetitive structure.
The writing explores race conflicts and the system but the writing is cliched and too predictable to fully engage with. Many of the production designs and camerawork were okay but felt cheap. The performances from the cast members were a mix of some good and some pretty bad. Jay Will does a good job with his performance but the rest of the cast, especially Camila Cabello, were pretty bad and were provided with some really rough dialogue.
The direction from Ejiofor feels lifeless and lacking, the pacing is pretty weak, and the tone and atmospheres explored feel as if there was many themes trying to be explored, yet couldn't focus on one. I have read the original novel which the movie is based on and I feel that the movie is a weak adaptation of what made the novel pretty interesting.
Being my last movie from Sundance, it was a bit disappointing. I can see the good intentions here but it was weak.
This movie is an example where just because an actor is very talented, doesn't mean they are worthy of directing movies. Chiwetel Ejiofor has directed "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" which I thought was decent but "Rob Peace", despite having good intentions, falls short due to the weak narrative, uninteresting characters and repetitive structure.
The writing explores race conflicts and the system but the writing is cliched and too predictable to fully engage with. Many of the production designs and camerawork were okay but felt cheap. The performances from the cast members were a mix of some good and some pretty bad. Jay Will does a good job with his performance but the rest of the cast, especially Camila Cabello, were pretty bad and were provided with some really rough dialogue.
The direction from Ejiofor feels lifeless and lacking, the pacing is pretty weak, and the tone and atmospheres explored feel as if there was many themes trying to be explored, yet couldn't focus on one. I have read the original novel which the movie is based on and I feel that the movie is a weak adaptation of what made the novel pretty interesting.
Being my last movie from Sundance, it was a bit disappointing. I can see the good intentions here but it was weak.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
