Rob Peace grew up with a knack for math and science, and his mother was committed to getting him the best education she could afford. She sent him to private school, where he excelled in every subject, then he got into Yale, where he majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Rob was brilliant, his family often said. But he was also burdened by his circumstances. When he was young, his father was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of a double murder. Determined to clear his father’s name, Rob became his biggest advocate, raising money for lawyers and pursuing appeals — all while trying to pave the way for a better life for himself. Written and directed by actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind), the biographical drama Rob Peace stars Ejiofor, Jay Will, and Mary J. Blige.
The odds are stacked against New Jersey native Rob Peace (Will), but his mother, Jackie (Blige), is committed to bettering his life — no matter the cost. She works multiple jobs to ensure Rob can attend a private school and get a good education, and it works: He becomes a top student at St. Benedict’s Prep School, in Newark, New Jersey, where he also excels at water polo. But all through his childhood, Rob is burdened by his father’s murder conviction. Skeet (Ejiofor) maintains that he’s innocent of the two murders he’s been sent to prison for, and so Rob does everything in his power to get his dad out of prison, even if it means jeopardizing his Ivy League education. As he tries to navigate the wildly different worlds of his hometown and at Yale University, Rob fights to improve not only his own life, but that of everyone around him.
Yes, it’s based on the book The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, who became friends with Rob Peace when they attended Yale University together.
The film takes place in East Orange and Newark, New Jersey, and New Haven, Connecticut.
Yes, it’s based on the true story of Rob DeShaun Peace, aka Shaun, who was born in 1980 to Jackie and Robert “Skeet” Peace in East Orange, New Jersey. Rob’s parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by Jackie solo. When Rob was 7 years old, Skeet was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the shooting deaths of two women, Charlene and Estella Moore.
Rob excelled in science from a young age, and his mother saved money to put him through private school at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, where he earned a 4.0 GPA and played on the water polo team. From there, he was accepted to Yale University, where he majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, worked in a laboratory for cancer and infectious diseases, and played for the school’s water polo club team. To make ends meet, Rob also worked in a university cafeteria and sold marijuana. After Rob graduated with honors in 2002, he took a job teaching at his high school alma mater and coached the school’s water polo team.
Throughout Rob’s teens and into adulthood, he fought to secure his father’s release from prison, believing him to be innocent. Rob helped his father get an appeal, which allowed Skeet to be released and have his charges temporarily dismissed. However, Skeet was placed back in prison a few weeks later after a new judge denied the appeal.
Several years later, in 2006, Skeet died of brain cancer in prison. In his late 20s, Rob went into the real estate business in his hometown of East Orange, where he also grew and sold marijuana to support his venture. In 2011, Rob was killed in a drug-related shooting. He was 30 years old. His college classmate and friend, Jeff Hobbs, went on to write The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace about Rob’s life. The film Rob Peace is adapted from Hobbs’ book.
