America (2009 Film) - Plot

Plot

A biracial 17-year old boy named America (Philip Johnson), who has experienced a difficult life of foster care and sexual abuse, undergoes counseling with psychiatrist Maureen Brennan (Rosie O'Donnell) to help him come to terms with his painful past of childhood trauma, including growing up with a crack-addicted mother (Toya Turner) and being shuffled through a series of foster homes including the Harpers (with Mrs. Harper played by Ruby Dee and Reggie Harper by Tim Rhoze). The film starts with Maureen Brennan (Rosie O'Donnell) is at a group home where she is giving a small introduction about outlook for most of the group home children's future (they end living on the streets, in jail, or dead). A young America, emotionally vacant and suicidal, comes to the attention Brennan. When she tries to talk to America, he refuses to give her any answers about his childhood. She helps him understand his troubled past in order to find the courage to survive and helps him forgive and forget and move forward.

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