Movie Review – ‘Gimme Shelter’
Gimme Shelter is based on the true story of Apple
Bailey, a girl who grew up with a drug-addicted mother, a father she never
knew, and in and out of foster homes. At
the age of 16, Apple finds herself pregnant and the victim of abuse, and
decides to run away from her mother’s destructive lifestyle.
She seeks out the father she has never known, Tom, a Wall
Street millionaire with a wife and two small children. Tom’s wife is not pleased with having Apple
in their home. After Apple’s pregnancy
is confirmed with an ultrasound, she is given an ultimatum: abort the baby or
leave.
As Tom’s wife takes Apple to the clinic, she can’t take the
eyes off her baby’s tiny form in the ultrasound picture. Apple, who never wanted an abortion in the
first place, runs off. After a car
accident she finds herself in a hospital, where an old priest, Father McCarthy,
takes an interest in helping her.
Through God’s Grace, and the help of Father McCarthy, Apple
finds herself at the shelter for teen mothers opened by Kathy DiFiore. Here, for the first time, she finds support
and a true family.
Gimme Shelter tells the true story of the shelter
started by DiFiore who, in service to the Lord, opened her home and her heart
to countless at-risk women and their babies.
During the credits, viewers are introduced to the real-life Apple Bailey
and Kathy DiFiore.
The film is not suitable for children due to the mature
subject matter and the lack of a message on sexual morality. Of course, that’s not the theme of this
film. It is powerfully pro-life, and
brings to light many issues that are so prevalent with women who find
themselves in crisis pregnancies.
Surveys show again and again that most young women who have
abortions say they would have chosen life if they had found just one person to
support them in that decision. More
often, they are faced with pressure to abort, either from parents or
boyfriends, as Apple received from her father.
(Her father, though, seems to have a bit of a conversion once he falls
in love with Apple’s baby).
Many young girls make heroically courageous choices to give
life to their babies and need someone to respect their dignity and offer them
hope.
The film also clearly shows what data consistently prove:
women who have ultrasounds – hear their baby’s heartbeat and see its pictures –
are overwhelmingly more likely to choose life.
This is likely why some pro-abortion groups try to force crisis
pregnancy clinics to obtain medical certification to perform an ultrasound
procedure, while their own clinics, which perform surgery, are often
immune. It is also why groups like the
Knights of Columbus have ultrasound initiatives that pay for the machines.
Gimme Shelter is a powerful film that defends the
dignity of young women who are scared and pressured, but determined to fight
for the lives of their children. It also
promotes the dignity of the unborn child, whose value is no less than yours or
mine. Finally, it highlights the
important work of crisis pregnancy centers and shelters for unwed mothers. Hopefully it will inspire changes of heart
and an awareness of our need to support these wonderful institutions and the
young women they serve.
