Directed by:
Victoria MahoneyCinematography:
Reed MoranoComposer:
David WittmanCast:
Zoë Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe, Tim Blake Nelson, Jason Clarke, Maurice Compte, Marc John Jefferies, Shareeka Epps, Billy Kay, Yolonda Ross (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Life is anything but sweet for 17-year-old Sweetness O'Hara. Her family life lacks warmth and, at school and on the street, she finds herself the target of naked aggression. One day when she is out riding her bike in her neighbourhood, some kids block her path, demanding that she hands over her bike. Sweetness resists, but is beaten to the ground by the gang and their leader – Latonya – a notorious bruiser. Luckily, Sweetness' older sister Ola appears on the scene and saves her from her predicament.
But Sweetness won't be able to rely on Ola for much longer; at home shortly afterwards Sweetness' white father, Gordon, an aggressive drinker, and her black mother, Lorene, have a fight. When her father gets violent, her mother leaves home and Ola decides to join her. From now on Sweetness must look after herself. She does so – with astonishing determination. With the help of local celebrity Roland she manages to earn herself a bit of street credibility and, before long, two of her erstwhile rivals, Fatima and Jojo, become her allies. With their support, she dares to attempt a head-on collision with Latonya – and succeeds in beating her rival to a pulp in front of the other pupils.
All at once, the pecking order is turned upside down. Sweetness becomes an increasingly loudmouthed bully. Only when her mother and sister come back into the family fold, does Sweetness come to the realisation that she is now the author of the kind of aggression which used to make her own life a misery ...
(Berlinale)
Cast
Zoë Kravitz
USA
Best movies:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Gabourey Sidibe
USA
Best movies:
Come As You Are (2019)
Precious (2009)
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Tim Blake Nelson
USA
Best movies:
Minority Report (2002)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Detachment (2011)
Jason Clarke
Australia
Best movies:
Oppenheimer (2023)
Lawless (2012)
Everest (2015)
Maurice Compte
USA
Best movies:
End of Watch (2012)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Born a Champion (2021)
Marc John Jefferies
USA
Best movies:
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Notorious (2009)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Shareeka Epps
USA
Best movies:
Mother and Child (2009)
Half Nelson (2006)
The Winning Season (2009)
Billy Kay
USA
Best movies:
L.I.E. (2001)
Three Men and a Baby (1987)
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
Yolonda Ross
USA
Best movies:
The Get Down (2016) (series)
The United States of Leland (2003)
Whatever Works (2009)
Sonequa Martin-Green
USA
Best movies:
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Yelling to the Sky (2011)
Holiday Rush (2019)
Jack Kesy
USA
Best movies:
Deadpool 2 (2018)
The Outpost (2019)
The Killer (2023)
Zabryna Guevara
Best movies:
The Get Down (2016) (series)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Marley and Me (2008)
Peter Anthony Tambakis
Best movies:
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Ransom (1996)
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Antonique Smith
Best movies:
Notorious (2009)
All You Need is Love (2007)
Abduction (2011)
E.J. Bonilla
USA
Best movies:
The Ron Clark Story (2006) (TV movie)
Gemini Man (2019)
The Mortician (2011)