Unstoppable’s Jharrel Jerome, The Real Anthony & Judy Robles Attend NYC Screening, Make Us All Cry

What’s Good? Unstoppable starring Jharrel Jerome as wrestler Anthony Robles and Jennifer Lopez as his mother, Judy Robles. It’s so good, in September when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, I wrote that Jerome’s performance was “relentless and enthralling.” Robles was born without his right leg and against all odds — and a bevy of doubters, including his own stepfather and coaches — he became an NCAA champion. On the surface, it’s an uplifting sports biopic but at its core, Unstoppable is a heartwrenching drama about the love between a mother and son, and what happens when your belief in yourself is stronger than the skepticism of others. One of my favorite things about this column, and what we do at Unbothered, is our commitment to putting our audience on to Black art deserving of our praise and attention. Which is why we partnered with Prime Video and our sister brand Somos (a space to learn, unlearn, and reconnect through Latine storytelling and community) to host a screening of Unstoppable before its release and for an intimate audience. We were even joined by Jharrel Jerome, Anthony Robles, and Judy Robles for an emotional Q&A after the film. Like the film, the conversation was very good. 

Who It’s Good For: During the screening at the Whitby Hotel in New York City, I could hear audible sobs, raucous laughter, and some disapproving noises directed at Anthony’s piece-of-shit stepdad (thanks to Bobby Cannavale’s precise portrayal of a one-dimensional deadbeat). The audience was full of different kinds of movie goers, some who love sports biopics and some who went in skeptical that they could relate to a sport they may not have known much about. By the end, we were all wrestling experts rooting for Anthony’s big win and tearing up at the growth both he and Judy displayed throughout their hardships. It would be simple to suggest that Unstoppable is for former athletes like Anthony or sports fans who live for the rush of high-octane competition. Those people will love Unstoppable for sure, but the movie is also for anyone who loves a good story and who gravitate towards films that expose the indomitability of the human spirit. It’s in the film’s quiet moments — like when Anthony is sharing a tender talk with his little brother or when Judy is telling off a predatory mortgage lender — that it really shines and proves that it’s truly for everyone. “I’m a wrestler so we train to not show that we’re tired and not show any pain. I tell people I don’t cry, sometimes my eyes just get sweaty,” Anthony Robles told the audience on Tuesday night with a laugh. “But there was a moment when the lights came on and to see the reaction of the people in that theater, my eyes were sweating hard. That was the whole reason we chose to tell our story — the uncomfortable moments, the painful moments, we knew that people could relate to [our] challenges. In order for this to inspire as many people as possible, we had to share that and it’s an honor to have it be so well received.” 

How Good Is It? As Robles spoke of what it’s like to watch his life unfold on a big screen in such a raw, vulnerable way in front of an audience, it was clear that both he and his mom, Judy, put a lot of care and intention into how their story would be told, and that’s why it’s so good. And one of the most intentional decisions they made was to cast Jharrel Jerome, one of the brightest talents of his generation. Jerome was not born with a limb difference like Robles was, and considering the state of representation for disabled actors (it’s far too low), Jerome understood how important the task he was assigned was — and he never took it for granted. “I understand the sensitivity in that conversation,” he said on stage after the screening. “There are actors with one leg, there are actors missing a limb, and those actors are able to do these roles so that’s a conversation about producers going far and wide and finding them.” And he’s right. The lack of disabled actors in Hollywood (especially Black and Latine ones) is a systemic, industry-wide issue. For Jerome, it came down to Robles’ approval. “When it’s placed on my lap, it’s Anthony’s validation that sends me to care about it and to know that I am the one who was meant to do it. That moment when I did look at him and said, ‘I got you, I’m going to tell your story and I’m going to do it right’ he looked at me like you didn’t even have to say that because I know. I took that and used it as fuel to make sure I brought the correct justice to it.” 

Jharrel Jerome is a singular actor who not only did this story justice, his performance elevates the entire film, taking it from a by-the-numbers biopic to a film that left the entire room in awe. There’s one scene in particular that broke me, even on my second viewing of the movie. In it, Jerome as Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as Judy have a gutting conversation about his abusive stepfather. Judy says, “I chose you, but I also chose him.” And she apologizes for putting her son in harm’s way. It’s a nuanced scene where a mother is taking accountability for her actions, but it also shows the ways in which victims of domestic violence blame themselves. During the Q&A, Judy got emotional when praising her son and admitted through tears that she doesn’t feel like she deserves him. The audience and I were quick to remind Judy that Anthony wouldn’t be the man he is without her, and that she deserves so much credit for this remarkably triumphant story. And her son agreed. “My mom says she doesn’t deserve it, she absolutely does. From day one, there was a list of things I wouldn’t be able to do. I step outside into the world and people would see me as less than, you know, like ‘poor kid’ but I never got that look from my mom. I never got those words from my mom,” Anthony shared. “Coming home, I’d be confused because I’d step out and my mom is saying one thing but [the world] is saying another. It was like ‘if mom says this then this is true.’ So my mom believed in me when no one else did.”  

That mother’s love is on full display through Lopez’s stirring performance and Judy shared that both JLo and Jerome’s portrayals “touched us a lot and meant a lot to our family.” After we all dried our sweaty eyes, I asked the trio to leave us with what they want audiences to take away from the film. 

“I want everyone to walk away with that word ‘unstoppable’ and I want them to make it their own,” Anthony said. “Unstoppable doesn’t mean that you don’t wrestle a challenge in life, that’s what makes you human. You’re going to have bad days, you’re going to have things that just knock you off your feet and just slam you down on your back, but what I’ve learned is it’s how you get back up.” 

I think we all needed to hear that message. And Jharrel Jerome ended the night with another gem that we all needed, a reminder that above everything else, community is key. For him, Unstoppable is a reminder to reconnect with the people who matter most to us. Looking around the room and the space we created to celebrate a film that should be getting all the love and recognition, his words hit as hard as Anthony slamming an opponent onto the wrestling mat. “No matter who you are or where you are in the world, it feels like there is such a dark cloud over us, especially entering this new year,” Jerome said. “I have made the mistake in the past few years of approaching everything with an individual approach [and] it’s so important to lean on who’s next to you and prove you trust the people around you… I’ve done a whole lot of listening and not a lot of talking in the past few months and it’s been meditative. I think we all just need our mamas right now and our sisters and brothers and friends we cut off two years ago. Hit ‘em up and bring them close again.” 

Unstoppable is available on Prime Video now.