During a sweltering summer in New York City, 14-year-old Mister’s hard-living mother is apprehended by the police, leaving the boy and nine-year-old Pete alone to forage for food while dodging child protective services and the destructive scenarios of the Brooklyn projects. Faced with more than any child can be expected to bear, the resourceful Mister nevertheless feels he is an unstoppable force against seemingly unmovable obstacles. But what really keeps the pair in the survival game is much more Mister’s vulnerability than his larger-than-life attitude.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is a beautifully observed and tremendously moving film about salvation through friendship and the way transformation sometimes can happen just by holding on long enough. Director George Tillman, Jr. draws indelible performances from a fantastic cast, which includes Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Jordin Sparks, all led by Skylan Brooks in a stunning breakout performance as Mister. - S. F.