Netflix Rob Paz it says the moving true story of the late Robert DeShaun Peace, a New Jersey native who studied at Yale University while also trying to help his incarcerated father. Rob PazThe courageous true story of a young black man working to survive systemic oppression and break patterns of generational trauma has long resonated with audiences, ever since Jeff Hobbs, a friend of the late Peace, published the novel on which it is based. The short and tragic life of Robert Peace was published in 2014.
Much of Rob PazThe central story and characters are based in reality, as Hobbs was a Yale classmate and close friend of Peace before his untimely death in a drug-related shooting. However, there are several fundamental changes made to this dramatized version of Peace’s life. The film features a star-studded cast including Mary J. Blige, Mare Winningham, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Camila Cabello and rising talent Jay Will. The film was shot in Newark, New Jersey, where much of Rob Paz is defined.
7
It is unknown whether Rob’s father pushed for his involvement in his legal battle
While the film depicts Rob’s voluntary involvement, it also portrays his father asking for help.
When Rob Peace’s (Jay Will) father, Rob “Skeet” Douglas (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is arrested, charged, and convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, Rob balances his efforts to exonerate him with his academic pursuits. He is convicted of murdering two women in his buildingwhat happened in real life (via Find Law). Highly intelligent and gifted in math and science, Rob’s mother, Jackie Peace (Mary J. Blige), recognizes his potential and places him in a private school (St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey), working various jobs to do finish.
Throughout your life, Rob’s mission to exonerate his father becomes an albatross around his neck. Although he remains focused on his education and builds strong friendships and connections along the way, viewers see him go to extreme lengths to find money to pay for his father’s legal fees and, later, his cancer treatment. A pivotal scene shows Skeet yelling at Rob on the phone about how he still can’t clear him. This only further contributes to Rob’s guilt.
As with many films based on true stories, some conversations presented are fictionalized versions of real events.
As with many films based on true stories, some conversations presented are fictionalized versions of real events. It’s entirely anecdotal whether Skeet pressured Rob to help him gain his freedom. Rob made it clear to Hobbs, his Yale roommate, who later immortalized him in writing, that he sincerely believed in his father’s innocenceand was working on his case of his own free will.
6
The film does not explore his role as a senior group leader in high school
From a young age, Rob was a leader
Rob’s time at St. Benedict’s Prep is briefly featured in Rob Paz, where he learns to swim and joins the school’s water polo team. It’s clear that he excels academically and makes new friends at private school, although these relationships are not explored in as much depth as during his time at Yale. In reality, Rob was a pillar of every community he was a part of and his presence was never fleeting. He left an indelible mark on the school and the reason it could have been scrutinized more closely.
In São Bento, the real young Rob served as a senior group leader and won the Presidential Award after graduation (via Bento’s news online). His leadership, both in water polo and beyond, has left a mark on the Newark, New Jersey private school community. These leadership roles came into play later in his life once again when he returned to St. Benedict’s to teach and inspire a new generation of young students.
The film would have benefited from exploring this side of Rob, as most of the narrative focuses on his journey to exonerate his father. Understanding his character traits outside of his literary intelligence would have actually developed him further as a character and showed more of his personal interests. This would only better explain why he was such a devoted son and friend and felt such a responsibility to his community.
5
The film does not explore Rob’s travels
Rob worked at Newark Liberty International Airport and traveled to several countries
After Rob’s graduation from Yale he struggles to balance his ambitions in the world of scientific research with what he considers to be his responsibilities to his community. He works at his alma mater, St. Benedict’s Prep, as a science teacher before working as a real estate agent as part of a larger initiative to revitalize his hometown of South Orange and renovate local homes. Rob feels a unique sense of responsibility to give back, as he is the most academically successful among his New Jersey classmates.
In reality, one of his workplaces was also Newark Liberty International Airport. He reportedly used his work-sponsored miles to travel the world. One of the places Rob traveled to was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (via Yale Daily News). While this isn’t mentioned in the film, it is loosely referenced through his relationship with Naya Vazquez (Camila Cabello), a fellow Yale student who moves to the city for graduate school. Rob’s travels would have been interesting to cover, as they clearly served as a much-needed break from his many responsibilities and rigorous studies. The film could have benefited from including this, to offset the trauma with joy.
4
Naya Vazquez is fictional
The character is loosely based on Rob’s college relationship
While at Yale, Rob meets Naya through a group of mutual friends. The pair begin a friendship and, eventually, a relationship. Naya supports Rob’s academic efforts in advanced laboratory research and is empathetic and understanding of his family’s situation and works hard to exonerate his father. She also offers him constructive criticism about his marijuana trafficking, understanding that he urgently needs money to help his father, but not wanting him to fall into the generational patterns that have affected his family.
Naya is not a real personbut Hobbs based the character on a relationship Rob had while at Yale (via NJ.com). She is meant to be an amalgamation of real people who knew Rob during his college years, and also serve as a warning against falling into his father’s standards. Prior to his arrest, Skeet also independently sold marijuana to local customers. Although Naya is clearly kind and intelligent, his character is poorly developed and largely serves as a plot device.
3
The police never raided Rob’s Yale dorm
This aspect of the film is fictional
The film shows the police raiding Rob’s Yale dorm in New Haven, Connecticut, after being tipped off about his marijuana business. Rob works as a low-level drug dealer only for other Yale students to raise money for his father’s cancer treatment. Rob manages to throw the money into the garden below his dorm while the police come to search his room. No formal charges were filed, and Rob managed to finish his freshman year at Yale and graduate the following year.
In reality, this attack never happened and was included in the film for dramatic effect.likely symbolizing that his side work with marijuana would lead to his tragic death. Hobbs confirmed that the operation never took place, although he was aware of his roommate and friends’ dealings (via NJ.com). However, Rob actually stopped selling marijuana after graduating. Rob only resumed this practice amid the stock market crash and the 2008 housing crisis, which affected his real estate business.
2
Professor Durham is loosely based on Rob’s time at Yale
Durham is another fictional element of his experience
Professor Durham, who is the first to believe in Rob’s potential in the world of clinical research at Yale, is largely fictional. Rob actually worked in a cancer research lab at Yale, where he once planned to get recommendations for graduate programs. All over Rob PazRob is passionate about using his talent for science and math to help people.
Professor Durham quickly entrusts Rob with more access to the lab than many of his fellow freshmen, both for his diligence and his willingness to learn. Durham, although fictional, is an example of the biomedical engineering program’s work to elevate a young black man in the sciences. While Rob faces racism during his time at Yale (including security constantly asking for his ID, lab researchers not believing he is a student, and more), Professor Durham continues to be a source of support and understanding, reaffirming that his lived experience does Your place in the program is even more important.
1
The Tuckers are fictitious and have presented no evidence
The film shows that they are family friends who had an alibi for Skeet.
The Tuckers live near Rob and his motherand even bought one of the houses he sold and sold through his real estate business. In the film, just before the couple is about to lose their home to foreclosure amid the 2008 market crash, Rob asks the couple if they think his late father, who died of cancer, actually committed the murder more than a decade earlier. The couple then reveals a photograph of the deceased Skeet holding his gun, which was clearly not the murder weapon.
The revelation leaves Rob with conflicting emotions as he feels better knowing his father was innocent due to all his work to clear him. However, he is angry that the couple did not present the evidence that could have freed him. The Tuckers are fictional and whether Skeet was innocent or guilty is still unclear. Skeet maintained his innocence until his death in 2006, although his conviction was never overturned (via Fox 5 New York). Rob Paz explores themes of perseverance, survival, and the struggle to break generational patterns, including letting go of pain.
Sources: Find Law, Bento’s news online, Yale Daily News, NJ.com, Fox 5 New York