Sounds of shooting and images of guns. A fire burns down a house. Description of domestic violence. Archival footage includes police violence and riots.
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Characters drink and smoke; one character's cigarette sparks a fire that burns down a house. Manufacturing, doctoring, and selling marijuana and other drugs becomes a prominent part of the story.
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Writer-director and co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor is Black, and the story is likely to spark empathy in all viewers for Black people living in places where the environment, social ills, and family circumstances can work against a person's ability to achieve their full potential. The film makes it clear that it's not the people who need changing most of the time—it's that systemic issues must be addressed by those in power to help people in need. Cast is mainly Black and Brown, including Mary J. Blige, Ejiofor, Camila Cabello, Jay Will, and Jelani Dacres. Blige's character is the strongest woman in the film, but Cabello's character (Rob's girlfriend) is hardly fleshed out and mainly seems to be there as moral and emotional support.
Focuses on power of education and hard work, as well as importance of having compassion and empathy for your family. But it also has a tragic message about how someone's environment and circumstances can bring them down, no matter how much potential they have. And it argues that you shouldn't live your life for other people at the expense of your own.
Positive Role Models
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Rob Peace is inspiring in the way he conceptualizes scientific theories and loves to learn. He shows great potential to become influential in science and medicine. He also shows great compassion for his family, particularly his father, Skeet. Rob uses all of his abilities to find ways to save his father from prison, but he eventually feels like he must turn to selling drugs to accomplish the goal.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Rob Peace is a powerful drama based on the true story of a young Black man in Newark, New Jersey, who has a gifted scientific mind but is pulled between pursuing a bright future and helping his father get out of jail. Written and directed by co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film has strong language ("f--k," "s--t," exclamatory use of "God," and more), as well as drinking, smoking (one character's cigarette sparks a fire that burns down a house), and scenes in which people manufacture and selling marijuana and other drugs. Archival footage includes police violence and riots, and there are sounds of shooting and images of guns, plus a description of domestic violence. The film offers strong Black representation both behind and in front of the camera and focuses on how environmental factors, not a Black person's potential, is what must be changed in society. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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What's the Story?
ROB PEACE follows the title character (Jay Will), a young man who excels throughout his school career and earns a spot at Yale. He loves biochemistry and looks set for a bright future somewhere outside of his bleak Newark, New Jersey, neighborhood. But Rob is beholden to helping his father, Skeet (Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also wrote and directed the film), who was convicted for murder—a crime he says he didn't commit. Rob goes to great lengths to help his father, against his mother's (Mary J. Blige) wishes. But Rob's decision to live for everyone except himself ultimately causes him to pay a very high price.
This heartrending story is truly a tragedy—it's a haunting film that's likely to stick with everyone who watches it. Rob Peace shows in great detail how the systematic forces that work against Black and Brown people in the United States have nipped in the bud the potential of many bright folks—including Rob. Hopefully, the movie will inspire the civic-minded to advocate for better policies and practices that will help everyone, especially those who are seemingly left behind but still want to achieve their own American dream.
The film also offers another valuable lesson that everyone can apply: Don't live your life for other people at the expense of your own. Rob's love for his family makes him want to save them, particularly Skeet. But his father's eventual dependence on him robs (no pun intended) Rob of his childhood, his teenage years, and eventually even his adulthood. Rob was his father's only lifeline, and other adults allowed him to carry that burden for far too long. If anything, Rob Peace shows how the most compassionate and strongest among us often need the most support.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the message of Rob Peace. What is it saying about the relationship between personal potential and social circumstances? What does Rob hope to do with his life? What holds him back?
How accurate do you think the movie is to what happened in real life? Why might filmmakers sometimes choose to alter the facts in films that are based on true stories?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Monique Jones
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
