The events of Netflix's new Rob Peace movie have viewers questioning how much is a true story.
Directed and written by Chiwetel Ejiofor (recently seen in Venom: The Last Dance), Rob Peace follows a Yale University student as he risks his life to help exonerate and save his father, who is in prison.
The film debuted on Netflix on November 11 behind a cast that included Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, and Camila Cabello alongside Ejiofor.
Which Parts of Rob Peace Movie Are a True Story?
Chiwetel Ejiofor's Rob Peace movie on Netflix is based on Jeff Hobbs's 2014 biography, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. While the movie is not entirely a true story, the biography helps inspire some of the plot's moments.
According to Ejiofor (via Today), "the fundamental bones of the story are all true," as he mentioned when discussing how he developed the film.
Because there are moments that "nobody was present for," he and his team had to get creative and imagine what certain scenes would look like:
"Inevitably, there are things that nobody was present for, that you kind of have to create, certain moments that you take your best stab at, what that would feel like, what it might emotionally look like. That’s part of the process, I think, with any adaptation or with any story, really, that's based on true events. But the bones of the story, the kind of fundamental bones of the story, are all true."
To help with authenticity, Ejiofor reviewed court documents from Robert "Skeet" Douglas (the character he plays) as he filled in the plot's blanks with "messages and emails and letters that were sent between parties."
He also met with Robert Peace's mother, Jackie, to discuss his vision for the movie and ensure the story was being told correctly:
"(I wanted to) understand more about the specific history of the family, (her) relationship with Skeet, with Rob, with everybody else, all of those sorts of dynamics in Rob’s life."
For Ejiofor, the goal was to make sure the "emotional, resonant truth of all of these interactions" was conveyed on screen, which he feels is accurate to the real story:
"I think it’s kind of just making sure one creates and is consistent with what is ultimately the kind of emotional, resonant truth of all of these interactions. And I think that’s accurate."
In real life, Robert DeShaun Peace lived with his mother after his parents separated. He was known to be gifted intellectually, and his father was active in helping him pursue his academic pursuits.
Rob's father, Skeet, was found guilty of murder in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison. From there, Rob worked hard to get his father out of jail and overturn his conviction; he even succeeded at one point, but after Skeet was released, an appeal put him back behind bars.
Although Rob eventually graduated from Yale, his father died in prison in 2006 after a battle with brain cancer. Rob was then shot and killed in 2011 at only 30 years old.
What Happens in Rob Peace Movie?
In the movie, Jay Will's Rob Peace grows up similarly to his real-life counterpart, who has a drug-dealing father and a mother who worked three jobs to send him to private school. He goes to Yale but does not get to live out his dreams of being a scientist due to helping his father get out of prison.
Throughout the story, Rob fights internal concerns that his father might be guilty but does everything he can to help with the case. This fact eats at him, but he does not confide in people outside of his mother, keeping the fact that his father was a convict a secret from his Yale colleagues.
Fighting through both the economic recession of 2008 and struggles within his community, Rob does not quit trying to better the world around him. Sadly, he does not get to see his happy ending as he is shot and killed by a gang leader.
While plenty of the main details in Rob Peace are reasonably accurate to the original story, Ejiofor and his team found a way to add the drama and excitement that movies like this often bring to the forefront.
Rob Peace is streaming on Netflix.
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