Antwone Fisher (2002)

Antwone Fisher (2002)

 6/10

Starring

Derek Luke

Denzel Washington

 

Directed by Denzel Washington

 

The movie is a fun drama to watch, and it does its best to convey the struggles of a young black man. You’ll be impressed to know that this movie was Denzel Washington’s first directorial work, and he did a good job.

That said, I felt the movie didn’t do the best job of showing us the struggles, as most of the challenges Fisher faced seemed to be his tales, and it’s left up to the viewer to use their imagination. The movie is a biographical drama inspired by the true story of Antwone Fisher and is based on his autobiographical book Finding Fish.

The story of Antwone Fisher is one of those sad tales of what happens when a child grows up in the foster system in the U.S. Fisher (Derek Luke), who didn’t know his father and whose mother gave birth to him while she was in jail, went through a lot of abuse as a child, both physical and sexual, which led to difficulty in his life as he grew up. Fisher joined the Navy, but his constant violent outbursts were about to get him thrown out. He was sent to a psychiatrist, Jerome Davenport (Washington), who tried to connect with Fisher but faced challenges, as Fisher wasn’t ready to open up about his past. Fisher’s life also had a lady in it, and after another fight, he started to open up. He began trying to get his life back on track so he could move forward with his future and be with the woman he loves.

Moving forward involved Fisher having to deal with the things that happened to him in the past and finding his birth parents to resolve the ongoing issues within him.

The movie wasn’t much of a financial success, but it was a critical one, with Washington getting a lot of praise for his directorial work. Luke also received praise for his acting in this movie. This was Luke’s first full-length movie production as a lead, as he had previously been acting in TV shows. The real Fisher has taken on a lot of work in the entertainment industry, writing, directing, and producing films, though I haven’t seen any of them.

The movie is worth seeing for anyone who hasn’t watched it yet. The drama is well-paced, and the movie delivers everything needed for a good time in front of the TV.