You haven't seen this film yet. But you should.
It is about the foster care system in America and its fatal flaws. Grace (Brie Larson) is a line worker at a group home which deals with troubled teens. Her past is horrid but she doesn't talk about it, not even to her wonderful boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.). Mason's past isn't spectacular either, but he lucked out and got an amazing set of foster parents with whom he's still close to after all these years.
Grace seems to be keeping it together but two events suddenly change that. She is pregnant and isn't sure about the whole thing. When she finally tells Mason, after the initial shock wears off, he's actually pretty thrilled and thinks that they will make great parents. And then there's Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) who reminds Grace tons about herself.
At the group home there is also Marcus (Keith Stanfield), who is about to turn eighteen and will age out of the system, Sammy (Alex Calloway), who hangs on to his dead sister's dolls and doesn't say anything, and Luis (Kevin Hernandez) who is probably one of the normal kids there.
Marcus has been abused and fears that shaving the hair off his head will show the marks of his past. It doesn't. Jayden's father misses picking her up for his scheduled weekend visit and she massively freaks out. She is a former cutter after all. That scene proves that Dever is probably one of the best young actresses working in Hollywood today. She is equally great in the heart-wrenching scene where she delivers a heart-breaking story featuring an octopus who sacrifices all her arms to a shark who just wants to be her friend. Grace files a report but Jack (Frantz Turner), the head of the home, but Jayden's father has already collected her. After all, he is a friend of a friend and entitled to his weekend visits. And Jayden won't admit that he beats her but only Grace understands why. Jayden's father is always looking over her shoulder. Between this and Marcus's suicide attempt over losing his pet beta fish, Grace is sent around the bend, deciding to go through with the abortion, ignoring Mason's tears and heartbreak and goes into Jayden's house. Jayden is fine, I guess, but she finally admits that her father beats her sometimes and we learn (though I had mostly predicted this) the truth behind Grace's past. Her father did beat her and rape her, resulting in her first pregnancy. And now, that man is up for parole. In fact, it was Grace's testimony that sent her father to prison. Jayden also tells the police on her father. Grace's story lent her strength and Jayden's message to Grace that she will be a great mom likewise gives Grace the strength to go through with her pregnancy.
Marcus will be fine and Grace believes that she will be too.
The film ends a month later, with Grace seeing a therapist (though she believes they don't know jack), her and Mason sobbing over the ultrasound and their baby's heartbeat. Marcus is also doing well, working at the aquarium and getting back together with a girl he first met years ago at the group home.
Now while it is called a group home, it is not a home. The kids' belongings are sorted through with gloves like in a psychiatric ward, and freedom of speech isn't really allowed. And though Grace, Mason and the others genuinely do care about the kids, they aren't parents. These kids have been dealt a raw deal, through no fault of their own. Grace is also correct, proving that she knows the kids better than any court appointed therapist. Yet, it is more about her personal journey than the flaws in the system.
Besides the importance of the plot, the acting is wonderful and it has a realism that you don't see much in films. Everyone is utterly brilliant in this film and deserve more fantastic roles in Hollywood. Don't miss Stephanie Beatriz (also appearing as the nasty Rosa in Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as another worker at the home. This is an independent film you shouldn't miss. Grade: A
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