Shelter 2014

     Tahir is homeless on the streets of Manhattan, New York.  He is a devout Muslim and an illegal immigrant without papers from Nigeria.  The Muslim community had been helping him with basic needs but he wants to try to provide them on his own.  He left all his belongings with another homeless man but when he returns everything he had is gone and the man is wearing Tahir’s shoes.  He starts to notice Hannah and he wants to learn more about her.  He discovers that she is a liar, she steals and all she cares about is her next heroin fix.  Tahir saves Hannah from a suicide attempt and they become friends.  Tahir and Hannah both have a back-story of how they came to be on the streets.

     This is a tough movie.  Jennifer Connelly is very thin and you can see the tendons in her hands plus all her bones through her skin.  She lost 25 pounds and she is a slim person to start.  It fact, she seems almost dangerously thin!!  I don’t know how homeless people survive in such an expensive city as New York.  The winters are not mild and there can be bad storms.  Shelters have curfew rules and you need to be in line before closing time plus early enough to get a bed.  Where do you go when you are turned away back into the snow?  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

105 min, Drama directed by Paul Bettany with Jennifer Connelly, Adolfo Mendez-Nouel, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Hoffman, Teddy Canez, Steve Cirbus, Alok Tewari, Haythem Noor, Wilson Montuori, J.D. Williams. 

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 41% critic 47% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 39 out of 100 with reviews from 10 critics, Amazon 4.0* out of 5* with 89 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in New York City, New York.  A friend of Anthony Mackie saw him on the street during filming, he was worried enough about Anthony to ask if he needed money.  His appearance seemed believable to his friend.