I recently came across a film as I was browsing Netflix. The title sounded interesting and it was rated high on the list of movies that I, as a consumer, might like. Shelter is a film centered around two characters, Hannah and Tahir (Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie), two homeless individuals struggling to survive in New York. Tahir is a Nigerian immigrant, left with no choice but to wander the streets when his Visa expires. Hannah is a middle-aged, white woman fighting a heroine addiction. The two quickly become joint, and find they need each other to survive.

As the movie progresses and we learn more about the characters, their hidden pasts. One day, as  Tahir is making music with plastic buckets and drumsticks, are Hannah’s father comes searching for his daughter and asks Tahir if he has ever seen her. Tahir denies. Hannah’s father shows Tahir a photograph of Hannah’s son and confronts her that evening. We learn that Hannah is a widow and left her son motherless because of her addiction. Tahir is enraged because his wife was raped and killed as he and his son watched. Tahir’s son was also killed and claims he would do anything to be able to see him again and shames Hannah for choosing her addiction over her son.

This film gives us a closer look at the daily obstacles homeless people encounter. Throughout the film, Hannah repeatedly relapses until she starts attending AA meetings and is able to get Tahir and herself in a hotel. When Hannah and Tahir can no longer afford the room, they are forced return to the streets in the Winter.

There is a flaw in the system. Despite Hannah sobering up, finding housing, she and Tahir have too many odds against the.When Tahir becomes extremely ill, Hannah desperately sells her body for a place to stay and to purchase the prescribed medication for Tahir. In the case of Hannah and Tahir, there is no happy ending. This is often the case with the majority of those who are underprivileged in society.