God's Pocket is a 2014 directed by John Slattery and based on a novel of the same name by Pete Dexter. The movie stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Mickey Scarpato, a blue-collar worker in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, known as God's Pocket.
Mickey's stepson, Leon (Caleb Landry Jones), is known in the neighborhood as a troublemaker and is killed on a construction site. Mickey is tasked with burying him, but things become complicated when the coroner declares Leon's death accidental, and his volatile mother, Jeanie (Christina Hendricks), demands answers. Mickey attempts to cover up the truth about his stepson's death by lying to the authorities and his wife, but his lies unravel when a tenacious newspaper columnist, Richard Shelburn (Richard Jenkins), starts investigating the case.
As the investigation progresses, Mickey's life begins to unravel, and he finds himself at odds with his wife, friends, and colleagues. He starts to realize that he cannot keep up the charade and must confront the truth, no matter how painful it may be.
The film explores themes of grief, guilt, and the desperation that can drive a man to do the unthinkable. It received mixed reviews from critics, but was praised for Hoffman's performance, the film's dark humor, and its portrayal of blue-collar life in a gritty urban environment.
