Antwone Fisher (2002)

A little too thick Mr. Washington.

Antwone Fisher is a good film based on a true story but Denzel Washington's directorial debut is a bit much and soapy. The acting is great from Washington and Derek Luke but the way the movie is portrayed is unsettling and emotionally draining. The story of Antwone Fisher is heartbreaking but I just feel this film is one-sided. Good story, bad execution. September 25, 2008

REALLY GOOD FILM

ANTWONE FISHER

Man Denzel really did a great job on his directorial debut; this was a great film and a real emotional story. I remember seeing this film when it first came out on DVD and thinking that I missed out on a great theatrical experience. This has got to be one of the better directorial debuts from an actor. Denzel really surprised me with this film as far as the filmmaking, because I knew he would be great in this film as an actor.

The film is the real life story of one Antwone Fisher obviously and what a story it is, so good he got hired to write it while working as a security guard at a studio lot. The film is a flashback/present day setting in which the hot tempered Fisher is sent to the Navy psychiatrist in order to stay in the Navy. It is here that Antwone is forced to tell his story but it is also here that Antwone learns to deal with that same story. I can honestly say that the things that happened to this man are horrible and will at times leave you wanting to cry. The things his foster family did to him are horrendous and no child should have to go through that, by the end when he is confronting all that plagued him you will no doubt be cheering for him. The real life Antwone wrote a marvelous screenplay that only he could obviously but none the less it was great, in fact he is still a screenwriter now for such films as ATL.

Derek Luke is excellent in the title role as he not only has to deal with Mr. Washington but also with shipmates that only further his problems. Luke portrays Fisher perfectly as he will bring a lot of emotion out of you with his performance. Same can be said for Malcolm David Kelley and Cory Hodges who play Fisher as kids, Kelley at age 7 and Cory at 14 and both of which do an outstanding job. In fact a lot of the most emotional scenes happen when he is younger; Kelley's scenes in particular can be hard to watch at times. Of course Denzel Washington is great as Dr. Jerome Davenport who is the man that turns Fisher's life around while at the same time Fisher turns his around as well. Denzel shines in this role as is Salli Richardson who plays his wife. The scenes with these two are great because the characters are going through one of the worst things that could happen to a couple, they can not have kids and he is shutting himself down. I don't think there was a weak performance in this entire film, every single person hired to act in this movie was top notch.

This was a great film to watch and enjoy but it is quite emotional and may bring tender hearts to tears, either way though I think you will enjoy this film.
September 22, 2008

Barely Scratches The Surface.....

This is the true story of a young man that is tragically abused in the foster care system by his foster family and his long journey to overcome this tragedy through the help of a caring psychiatrist and finding the love of his birth family....

For this reason I loved the movie "Antwone Fisher". However, it is difficult to portray the entire story of Mr. Fisher's life in a movie and some areas of the movie left me feeling like it was just another happy Hollywood ending.

We never learn why Mr. Fisher's birth mother never came to claim him after she was released from prison. We do see that Mr. Fisher does find and confront his birth mother, but it would have been nice to hear her side of the story in the movie instead of just hearing Antwone tell her all about how well he has turned out as a man.

Also, does Antowne Fisher end up marrying, Cheryl, his girlfriend in the movie and do they have a happily ever after? We presume that "Antwone Fisher" has overcome his anger issues, but it would have been great to know what he is doing with is life now. So many unanswered questions left hanging at the end of this movie. June 27, 2008

Antwone Fisher: A Truly Bonafide Story of Triumph Over Adversity

The film Antwone Fisher, is a fact-based docudrama about the journey of a soft spoken and bright African American navy officer who, despite the most inauspicious circumstances and incredible odds, is able to overcome tremendous hardships, find his real family, and ultimately, himself. Antwone Fisher is a real underdog story that everyone can relate to: conquering adversities which stem from rough beginnings before being able to face up to the future.


Antwone Fisher was literally born in tragic circumstances: while his mother, if you can call her that, was in jail and after his father had been shot and killed. However, these would only be the beginning of his tragic childhood. Within the first few weeks of his life, he would be placed in the terrible hands of an abusive foster family, leaving him to be physically and emotionally abused by them for more than 10 years of his childhood. Fisher grew up feeling abandoned and hurt as he had been deprived of love and hope--the essential ingredients of a nurturing environment for children. However, things only got worse. Having felt the shame of being unwanted his whole life and having everyone leave him, he is filled with pain and anger. Moreover, witnessing the tragic death of his childhood best friend compounds his feeling of abandonment and unwillingness to trust and love. Eventually, Fisher joins the Navy, which is where the movie picks up.

At the start of the film, Fisher played by Hollywood newcomer Derek Luke, has joined the navy. However, due to his violent temper, Fisher attacks another Navy man and eventually winds up in the hands of Jerome DavenPort, the Navy psychiatrist played by Denzel Washington. Throughout the movie, the root of Fisher's violent temper is gradually uncovered through flashbacks of his childhood which were shot to depict the rawness of his existence and punctuated with dialogue between Fisher and Davenport. As Fisher and Davenport have more sessions, Davenport becomes a key figure in Fisher's life: the father he never had. With the guidance of Jerome DavenPort (Denzel Washington) and encouragement from DavenPort's wife (Salli Richardson) and a female navy officer Sheryl (Joy Bryant), who plays Fisher's love interest, Fisher is finally able to reconcile with his past.

In this film, Oscar winner Denzel Washington's directorial debut, the directing skills of Washington have been combined with the superb screen writing skills of the real Antwone Fisher to create a masterpiece that is both memorable and moving.

Although the movie has a mawkish plot, Washington is able to transform this material to create an inspiring yet intense film on screen that captures the emotions, struggles, and hardships of Fisher's real past. Along with Washington's spectacular directing ability, the outstanding performance of Derek Luke, who plays Antwone fisher on screen, is able to reveal Fishers vulnerability and pain along with Fisher's tenacity to succeed in life. However, his performance doesn't quite capture a sense that there is a seething anger inside him. Fisher in the movie is portrayed as normally quiet and detached, but not seemingly to hold a rage within him. On the other hand, the exchanges between Washington and Luke are able to depict the volatile side of Fisher while the scenes between Bryant and Luke are able to depict a more tender side of Fisher, really showing why Fisher would have a reason to emerge out of his shell. The crescendo of the film shows a huge paternal family gathering welcoming Antwone into the family. Antwone finally has the family he always longed for. Through the love of a father (DavenPort) and a his real family that tragic little boy found the courage and hope to re-emerge as a new person.

When it comes to the authenticity of the events which occur in the film, they are almost exactly parallel to the real events in Fisher's life. All of the minor changes in the film have only helped the film more accurately portray the struggles that Fisher went through in reality. The movie follows history closely except for a few name changes, time period change, and fictionalized minor events and characters. The only exception to this is that in reality, Fisher never goes back to confront his foster family after he leaves them but in the movie Fisher goes to ask his foster family about his real family. This is to show a more enduring sense of intensity and assists in depicting Fisher's genuine tenacity.

In the film, his foster family is named the Tate's while in reality they are the Pickett's. The movie also increases the age at which Fisher's foster siblings start to sexually abuse him and portrays the foster family as better than they actually were so that the scenes are more socially acceptable. As for the main characters, all of them are real. In an interview with Antwone Fisher about the film, Fisher stated, "He's (Daven Port) a real person but I had to have him do some things that a few other people had helped me do. He also serves the purpose that he served in real life, and he also does things that other people did for me - just like the girl."

The real Antwone Fisher also stated that the movie's time period was changed to attract a more widespread audience. "I (Antwone) was born in 1959 but for the movie's sake, we decided [to change it] so that children - kids - would find it contemporary."

However, everything else from Fisher being tied to a support beam in the basement and Fisher finding his family after many years is one hundred percent true.

Antwone Fisher is an eye-opening and inspiring story that will have all audiences on the verge of tears. It not only exposes the horrors of a flawed foster care system but shows the power of the human spirit. It is a movie that will take you along the ups and downs of Fisher's life.
June 1, 2008

Antwone Fisher, Just Another Tearjerker

A tearjerker is defined by Merriam-Webster as a story, song, play, film, or broadcast that moves or is intended to move it audience to tears. These sob stories have been prevalent in the moviemaking industry, showing individuals who have overcome incredible odds to succeed in life; but in Antwone Fisher, like in any other solid movie, the actual story is dramatized to glorify the subject--and this begins to raise questions, when the screenwriter is Antwone Fisher, himself.

The movie starts with Antwone Fisher (played by Derek Luke), a seaman of the U.S. Navy, who after attacking a fellow sailor, is forced to meet with the naval psychiatrist, Dr. Davenport (played by Denzel Washington), for anger management therapy. Gradually, he begins to befriend the psychiatrist and he gradually reveals the story of his traumatic childhood, rife with physical abuse, sexual abuse, and abandonment. Soon thereafter, Davenport convinces Fisher to find out more about his past by locating his family, in order to forgive, forget, and move on.

The movie, itself, isn't unsatisfactory. Denzel Washington makes his directional debut with Antwone Fisher, using conventional but effective filmmaking techniques to show the story. Derek Luke also makes his starring debut, and puts on a convincing performance for such a difficult role--the audience can see the reluctance in his eyes when telling the story of his awful childhood or the joy and confusion on his face when he finally finds his family in Cleveland. The story is powerful, the directing is solid, and the acting is convincing, but unfortunately for the movie, Antwone Fisher also made his debut as a screenwriter, writing the script for the movie, himself.

Obviously at first glance, due to the fact Antwone Fisher wrote the script, the movie appears to stay really true to the actual story of his life. Even small details were included like the incident where after playing with fire, Mrs. Tate beat him with a flaming newspaper. At first only a few minute errors were apparent; for example, in actuality the Tate family is the Pickett family. But after a closer analysis, it seemed as if the movie was teeming with inaccuracies.

For example, the movie fails to mention Fisher left the Navy long before he searched for his family, and in actuality the search took years--the movie shows Fisher finding the whereabouts of his family after a week of questioning and phone calls. The movie also makes Fisher seem more courageous and more sensible--more of a hero--than he actually was. In the movie we see a young Fisher standing up for himself, against the abuse of Mrs. Tate and leaving her house on his own will, but in reality he was saved by a social worker who found about the abuse and had him placed back in an orphanage. Not only does the movie not depict him being saved by someone else, but he is also depicted as saving Dr. Davenport's marriage. Another great blunder, Fisher never returned to the Tate's for help in locating his family. The scene when the audience cheers as Mrs. Tate finally gets what's coming to her, as Fisher exclaims in her face "It don't matter what you tried to do, you couldn't destroy me! I'm still standing! I'm still strong! And I always will be"--that scene was nothing more than the imagination of some Hollywood editor.

Another area of considerable controversy is what Fisher chose to leave out of the film. After being sent back to the men's shelter when he turned of legal age, he got a job as a runner for a pimp, collecting money from hookers. There was also a period of time after leaving the Navy when he worked as a security guard at Terminal Island--google Terminal Island and you will find that it is a prison infamous for inhumanely treating people, and prostitution.

Without a doubt, Antwone Fisher is a striking human being and it is impossible to condense his whole life into a movie, with the countless experiences, more than most experience in a lifetime, which you have to see to believe. The story of Antwone Fisher is remarkable, but the movie just does not do it justice. The fact Fisher wrote the screenplay definitely took away from the movie, as it is hard for anyone to separate what is important and unimportant in the story of their lives. In the end, we are left with what is an emotionally powerful story that could have been even more powerful--that could have been more than just another tearjerker.
June 1, 2008

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