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Vanessa Hudgens has had an interesting career thus far. Coming into the spotlight with her debut in the High School Musical films, she found herself on the other side of the spectrum most Disney kids go through with a few nude photo scandals. However, she’s bounced back from the controversy with a starring role in what’s arguably been 2013’s most divisive film, Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers. Her role as Candy showed a different side to the former Disney starlet that was somewhat hinted at in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch.
It’s her role in writer/director Ronald Krauss’ Gimme Shelter that will truly garner her the critical acclaim she deserves. Based on a true story, Hudgens stars as Agnes “Apple” Bailey, a pregnant homeless teenager that flees her drug addict Mom’s (Rosario Dawson) house to her estranged Dad’s (Brendan Fraser), only to be shunned. It’s when she meets an elderly man (James Earl Jones) that takes her in at a homeless shelter for teenagers that she truly finds a family that loves her.
Gimme Shelter is a heartstring tugger, but one that doesn’t dive too far into preachy cheesiness, based on this first trailer. I’m ready to see Hudgens dive into a more serious, dramatic stage in her career, and I believe this film could be the first step towards that. Hopefully, Gimme Shelter will be able to toe the line between sentimentality and real human drama.
Gimme Shelter will be released in theaters on January 24th, 2014.
