by Aimee Lewis

It’s hard to give up your dreams just for a dead-beat family, which is what Zach (Trevor Wright) is learning after he graduates and is forced to live with his sister, Jeanne (Tina Holmes), who has a child named Cody, and a boyfriend. Not wanting to take care of Cody, Jeanne gives Zach the burden of caring for him, which is the reason why he gives up his dream of going to the art school that he had been accepted to.

In his free time, Zach surfs with his best friend, Gabe (Ross Thomas). Gabe’s writer brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), comes back into town in an attempt to cure his writer’s block, and Zach starts to spend his free time with Shaun. They develop a close friendship during this time, and eventually they start to fall in love. Jeanne eventually notices just how much time they have been spending together and tells Zach that Shaun is gay, and to stop spending so much time with him and keep Cody away. Now Zach has to deal with his growing feelings for Shaun, while also dealing with his on-and-off girlfriend, and his homophobic sister and her child.

Shelter, directed by Jonah Markowitz and rated R, is a very good movie and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to watch a truly inspiring movie with great acting.

This movie is rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use.

Read more: http://events.charlotteobserver.com/movies/show/15862-shelter#ixzz193T2IXr6

Aimee Lewis is 17 years old and an ongoing contributor to our Teen Talk section; her interests are acting and reading, and she hopes to become a Criminologist and work in Law Enforcement.