Filly Brown is a young Latina Hip Hop artist spitting rhymes on the underground radio scene in LA with a group of friends that support her art. Filly’s mom is in jail, but gives Filly lyrics to spit, which garners her notice by a promoter and ultimately, a record contract with producer “Big C.” Filly signs the deal in order to get the money to hire a lawyer for her mother’s defense. As she gains success, she quickly loses her street vibe, artistic integrity, and the respect of many of her friends. Ultimately, we discover that her mother gave her lyrics stolen from someone else, which leads to Big C being sued. Filly’s mom also lied about the reasons she is in jail, a discovery that causes Filly’s world to come crashing down around her. The revelation serves to reunite her family, however, including younger sister Lupe, who has gotten caught up in her own web of trouble with one of Big C’s employees, and her father, a construction worker with his own set of secrets that shine light on why Filly’s mom is in jail to begin with. Ultimately, the family comes together and confesses their sins to each other, with Filly free-styling a poem of forgiveness to her mom. We are left with a ray of hope that unity will one day be restored.
While burdened by an overly complicated storyline, and themes that have been seen many times before, Filly Brown packed quite an emotional punch for me. I especially appreciated the love that Filly showed for her mom, even though her mom was a strung out, lying drug addict. The father’s resignation, fueled by his determination to live in truth was also a strong reminder of the power of integrity. When all is revealed, the family makes the difficult choice to stick together and support each other. The resulting reunion and display of Filly’s forgiveness for her mom is a powerful, moving example of grace and renewal, and a welcome reminder of the power of love.