Monty (Idris Elba) is a mechanic struggling to make ends meet while raising his three young daughters. When the court awards custody of his daughters to his ex-wife, Monty desperately tries to win them back with the help of Julia (Gabrielle Union), a beautiful, Ivy League-educated attorney. Monty and Julia couldn't be less alike, but a flame is ignited...touching off a firestorm of love and conflict.

African-American gospel auteur Tyler Perry leaves behind his over-the-top Madea persona (the driving force of his previous movies Diary of Mad Black Woman and Madea's Family Reunion) to craft a more subdued--yet more emotionally compelling--story. Monty (Idris Elba, The Wire) has been the sole support of his three daughters, but when his ex returns to try to claim them, he can't afford the legal counsel to fight her--until he crosses paths with Julia (Gabrielle Union, Bring It On, Deliver Us from Eva), a lawyer whose successful career hasn't helped her be successful in love. The story of Daddy's Little Girls doesn't hold a lot of surprises; the romance between these two will be bumpy while implausible but necessary-to-the-plot factors keep them from resolving their conflicts until the last moment. But what is surprising--after the grandstanding histrionics of the Madea movies--is how Perry has guided his topnotch actors to rock-solid performances that quietly draw you in. Though the plot twists smack of melodrama, the actors make each scene seem real. The strong supporting cast includes Louis Gosset Jr. (An Officer and a Gentleman) and Tasha Smith, who gives an unflinching and unsettling performance as Monty's ex, who decides to teach her daughters the harshest lessons life has to offer. --Bret Fetzer