''The Poker House'', subsequently retitled as ''Behind Closed Doors'', is a 2008 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by Lori Petty, in her

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. Based on Petty's early life during the 1970s, the film depicts a painful day in the life of Agnes (

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people ...

) a teenaged girl who is raising her two younger sisters, Bee (Sophi Bairley) and Cammie (

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards. She began acti ...

), in their mother's

whorehouse A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the characters, writing and performances of the ensemble cast (particularly that of Lawrence) although the plot was criticized. At the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...

, Lawrence won an Outstanding Performance Award for her performance.

Plot

The film focuses on one single day in the life of three abused and neglected sisters, 14-year-old Agnes (

), 12-year-old Bee (Sophi Bairley), and 8-year-old Cammie (

). Their mother, Sarah (

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

), addicted to alcohol and drugs, has been coerced into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

to support her pimp, Duval (

Bokeem Woodbine Bokeem Woodbine (born April 13, 1973) is an American actor. In 1994 he portrayed Joshua, Jason's troubled brother, in ''Jason's Lyric''. He won a Black Reel Award, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Awar ...

). Sarah is unable to care for the girls, forcing Agnes to take responsibility for her two younger sisters. Sarah's house has become known as the Poker House, where neighborhood pimps and criminals gather to play poker, as well as buying sex. Agnes believes Duval is her boyfriend and that he loves her, despite being much older and his abuse towards her mother. Agnes wakes Bee and prepares her for her paper route. Cammie has stayed the night at her friend Sheila's house. It is revealed that before they left their father, who was a preacher, he used to beat Sarah and the girls. The four fled, and Sarah, struggling to take care of the girls on her own, became a prostitute after meeting Duval. The day shifts from girl to girl. Little interaction occurs among the three. Bee speaks of moving into a foster home, hoping to be adopted. Cammie spends the day at a bar, making friends with Dolly (Natalie West), the bar owner, and Stymie (

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on ''Damon (TV series), Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmic ...

), an alcoholic. Agnes rides through town, talking with a few friends, playing a game of basketball, and picking up a couple of paychecks from her part-time jobs. Towards the end of the day, Agnes climbs through Bee's window, avoiding the living room, which is full of gamblers, pimps, and drunks. Bee has locked herself in her room, and like Agnes, avoids the downstairs chaos. Agnes makes Bee leave the house, telling her not to come back for a while. Later that evening after Duval and Agnes begin kissing, Duval then rapes her. As Duval releases her, she runs to the bathroom to clean herself, horrified by the thoughts of the violence and possibility of pregnancy. She is completely traumatized. Her mother enters the bathroom, and as Agnes reaches for her in utter distress, Sarah refuses to touch her, and instead tells Agnes to go to the store to pick up alcohol. Soon after, Agnes overhears Duval telling Sarah that he will begin pimping and selling Agnes. Agnes threatens to shoot Duval, firing a couple of shots and screaming to her mother that he raped her. Sarah tells Agnes that she will defend him. Agnes, a school basketball star, scores 27 points in the second half alone, a record that lasts for years to come. However, she falls when she scores the last goal, limps to the car, and has a meltdown. She then drives off and finds Bee and Cammie at a nearby bridge. The two get in the car, with Agnes not telling her young sisters of events that took place that evening, and instead takes them to get dinner. Cammie then plays "

Ain't No Mountain High Enough "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and ...

", and the movie closes as the three girls sing together. At the start of the film credits, Agnes is revealed to have left Iowa to go to New York and become an actress and artist. Some 20 years later, she is shown to have directed the movie, revealing the movie is the true story of director Lori Petty's childhood.

Cast

as Agnes *

as Sarah *

as Cammie *

as Duval *

as Stymie *

Danielle Campbell Danielle Marie Campbell (born January 30, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Jessica Olson in the 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie '' Starstruck'', Simone Daniels in the 2011 Disney film ''Prom'', Davina Clair ...

as Darla *Sophi Bairley as Bee *Casey Tutton as Sheila Jennifer Lawrence's father, Gary Lawrence, appears uncredited in the film as the basketball coach of the other team.

Reception

Critical response

''The Poker House'' has received mixed reviews from film critics. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reports that 63% of critics have given the film a positive review based on eight reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poker House, The 2008 drama films American coming-of-age drama films 2000s coming-of-age drama films American independent films 2008 directorial debut films 2008 films Films about prostitution in the United States Films about rape American films based on actual events Films directed by Lori Petty Films set in 1976 Films set in Iowa Films shot in Chicago 2000s English-language films 2000s American films