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Review
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The first bad sign is "based on a true story". The second
is "directed by Denzel Washington", one of the stars. The
third is "produced by Denzel Washington".
As with many "based on" true stories, the original true
story does sound somewhat interesting, though I suspect it
was jazzed up considerably, if not by the director of the
film, then by the writer himself, Antwone Fisher. Fisher is
a navy boy (played respectfully since the Navy cooperated in
supplying an aircraft carrier for filming) who misbehaves a
few times-- mostly attacking people who make fun of him--
and gets sent for counselling. And here we have the saintly
psychiatrist played by Washington. In the movies, of
course, psychiatrists never say "look, if you don't want my
help then don't waste my time. Call me if you ever do want
to talk..." Oh no. That would be considerably less
gratifying to the ego of the writer who wants us to believe
that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into making
those unbearable confessions about the time he was molested
and how his aunt, who brought him (and fed and clothed him,
presumably) used to whack him when he misbehaved.
In films like this, the "victim" never behaves badly, of
course, though, in real life, even if he had, we wouldn't
blame him. But no no, let's clean that story up a bit. And
when he finally does confront Mrs. Tate, and his aunt,
unlike most people in real life (including, as I recently
saw in a documentary, the mass murders of Cambodia), they
are slain by the truth, and cast their eyes downward in
shame! This scene, one of the weakest in the movie,
demonstrates that while Washington may have mastered some of
the technical requirements of the film, he had no insight
into character, in one of the most potentially powerful
scenes in the movie. Where was Mrs. Tate's most obvious
protestation? I raised you! I fed you and clothed you and
housed you! I'm an old lady! How can you treat me this
way. I'm not saying the possible guilt of this woman should
be diminished-- I only ask that it be made real by not
having everyone play cardboard cutout for Fisher's -- truth
be told-- self-centred suffering.
That said, the scenes following, are better. Antwone's
reception by his father's family in particular is resonant
and effective. And his confrontation with his mother has
the good sense to give the woman dignity that it denied to
Mrs. Tate. They are believable.
And then that disgraceful last few moments, in which the
psychiatrist too, as per the textbook, must have learned
something important! You almost want to hurl something at
the screen when such a delicately likable sequence of scenes
is so painfully kludged downwards, probably to satisfy the
vanity of the actor Washington.
Joy Bryant, as Antwone's girlfriend, Cheryl, is magical, but
not given much opportunity to stretch. She ends up being
nothing but a foil for Antwone's self-centred sufferings,
which is too bad, because she was ferciously likeable and
charming, and would have been even more so if the makes of
this film had had the guts to give something of her own
life.
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