Simply Perfect

best movie i've ever seen.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) is a navy officer with a short fuse who finds himself being referred to the navy doctor Jerome Davenport (Denzel Washington). At first, Fisher is standoffish and unwilling to open up to Davenport, but Davenport persists with the young officer and eventually Fisher does begin to try to explain some of the reasons for his behaviour. Davenport soon learns that Fisher had a troublesome childhood whilst he was growing up with his foster mother and Davenport believes that it may help Fisher's emotional psyche if he were to try and find his mother and make attempts to reconnect with his family.This is actually a nice story and from a narrative point of view it is very well-constructed and structured; essentially we'll witness something happening to Fisher that lands him in trouble and then we get flashbacks from his childhood which establishes motives for his behaviour in later life. The film uses this approach for much of its running time and it does work very well; you get the best of both worlds in some ways by witnessing some powerful dramatic moments and then we get some exposition explaining away why Fisher behaves in the manner that he does. It is a fairly well-written film which does a good job of developing its protagonist (although having the real life Antwone Fisher penning the screenplay probably helped the film a lot in this respect).According to the trivia section, the likes of Will Smith and Cuba Gooding JR auditioned for the role, but Washington refused and wanted an unknown actor to portray the lead character - this was probably a risk at the time, but one which, in the long run, probably paid off. Maybe it was budget constraints that forced Washington cast an unknown actor (who knows what sort of salary Smith or Gooding Jr wanted at the time) or maybe Washington knew that a film of this nature didn't have to rely on star power to get people to watch it after all everyone loves an uplifting feel-good story don't they? Whatever his reasons it was probably the right choice and Derek Luke really works hard here in crafting a character who is misunderstood, traumatised, deeply troubled, but he's also a character that is strong-willed and brave.From a narrative perspective this film is good and some of Washington's directing is also good, but the trouble with this film is that it does all feel a bit clinical, by-the-numbers and rather safe. It does have the feel of a Lifetime movie and it's clear when watching this film that Washington takes no real risks and whilst it is good in several parts, it is also quite weak in other areas - the film makes a big deal about Fisher meeting his mother and gives a big build-up to this occasion, but when the time comes for Fisher to meet his mother it all falls a bit flat and it doesn't have the emotionally satisfying pay-off that I was hoping for. Fisher's romance with Cheryl is also a weak part of the film which is both undercooked and underwhelming and to me isn't the most important aspect of the story - although it does seem to take up a good chunk of the film.Antwone Fisher is a nice uplifting story that will undoubtedly cheer you up if you're feeling down and I suppose in that respect it does its job. Despite my reservations above, I did like the film and I too found it uplifting and enjoyable, but it just wasn't quite the emotional punch to the gut that I was expecting it to be.

Antwone Fisher is somewhat of a breakthrough film in several ways ~ Based on a factual story, it features a screenplay consisting of the first writings of the central character (Antwone Fisher) ~ A remarkable first acting performance by a new screen personality (Derek Luke as Antwone) ~ An accomplished directorial debut for performer Denzell Washington.Perhaps the most instantly striking aspects come in the form of the visual structure. The opening shots draw the viewer into a mesmerizing beautiful vista that carries you to a doorway leading into the dream of a child. I marveled at the power of these visuals till I realized the director of photography was none other than the great Philippe Rousselot. The Frenchman responsible for those unforgettable images that made "The Emerald Forest" and "The Bear" so breathtaking. Art Director David Lazan ('The Usual Suspects' '95) and set Decorator Anne Mc Culley ('My Life' '93) reinforce this convincing look with solid background designs. Mychael Danna ('The Life of Pi' '12) creates his trade mark musical design to complete this stylish production.Performances are heartfelt with one brief stand-out 'wordless' scene provided by Viola Davis ('Doubt' '08) as Antwon's Mother. Always a difficult to achieve plus in any movie are convincing performances by the child actors - all do very well in their important roles. An uncredited appearance early in the film by a well kept James Brolan as a Navy ships commander - gets the story rolling on a strong note. If anything, one sequence that needed a better approach may have been the party provided for Antwone by his newly found extended family. Being so hastily organized this event is not given time to be convincingly developed and might have been best set as being held at a latter date - as good as this scene is, it tends to come across as tacked on and perhaps needlessly over sentimentalized. Apart from this minor (but important scene) Antwone Fisher is mostly grade 'A' life affirming entertainment.

The movie that I watched is Antwone Fisher, directed by Denzel Washington and written by Antwone Fisher. It is an autobiographical drama about Antwone Fisher. He is guided by a Navy psychiatrist, and confronts his past and connects with family he never knew existed.There was a huge array of things I noticed in the movie. The biggest of which was how it wasn't only white people that abused and exploited African Americans, it was also African Americans that exploited and abused people of their own race. For example, the foster parent of Antwone and the daughter of the foster parent treated Antwone horribly. I had always known how badly African Americans were treated, and I had always known how orphans were treated in many places, but I had never even thought about how much African American orphans were treated before and even now. Antwone Fisher was constantly threatened, beat up, and even sexually abused by his foster family. The frequency of how much the foster mother used the word 'nigger' really made me cringe each time I heard it. It was so bad that at one point, she didn't use the word 'nigger' in a sentence and it really surprised me. Even after 20 or so years when Antwone finally came back to get information about his parents, the first thing the foster mother said was a sentence including a truckload of the word 'nigger.'This move really helped my understanding of the era because seeing is always better than simply learning about it in a classroom. By seeing, I was able to see things through the point of view of a single individual, who seemed to have things going for him in the Navy. However, more and more problems with the past showed up and it taught me that even the most normal of people may have serious emotional, mental, or psychological problems. It also helped me truly think about the importance of having someone to talk to. I guess you could say that I am a fairly privileged student and young man, since I've never had to worry about the necessities of life and I've always had people I could trust and talk to. The idea of not having people around that I can talk to really scares me. Overall, I really enjoyed watching this film and understand why this movie has 17 awards and 18 nominations. I personally found this movie really touching and I really enjoyed watching the progress he made throughout the movie.

I ask because I recall when the film was released over four years ago,I seemed to remember that while I was curious about a film that is written by the hero of the story and was pitched as sort of a labor of love,made then into a big-budget Hollywood movie. The ads seemed to tell only a sparse amount of meaty detail of the film,suggesting a sort of "rags-to-riches" or "up from bootstraps" story but not giving much away. After finally getting around to watching this,I now am FULLY aware of why this film was pushed the way it was:basically,there was no choice by the producers or 20th Century Fox,because the story of Antwone Quentin Fisher(played with quiet,almost too quiet,grace and dignity by Derek Luke)is one of great pain and loneliness that cannot be conveyed by a thirty-second movie trailer. To be sure,there's also a very heartening story of success that arises from the film,but in order to get to that,you the viewer need to know WHY this young man's emergence is so special.We meet Fisher as a troubled but basically unassuming and upright young sailor whose been assigned to counseling for striking another sailor,a white one who had mouthed off at him. The therapist he's assigned to,DAvenport(Denzel Washington,also the director)is a no-nonsense guy who understands that Fisher isn't going to open right away,and instead opts to wait him out. Eventually,Antwone little by little opens up about his past(the orphanages,the foster home,the few friends and family he had before the NAvy,etc.)and his present,namely,his interest in a pretty sailor named Cheryl(Joy Bryant,radiant!),and discovers,through both DAvenport,Cheryl and himself,Antwone goes about piecing his life back together to reach some sense of peace,acceptance and even forgiveness.This is another tough film to market(like the Kevin Kline film where he's a headmaster at an exclusive boys' school through three decades,the name of which as you can see escapes me),mainly because it is neither sexy nor sensational,not particularly violent(save a few scenes)and reaches its denouement through very personal,almost cultural means. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that many people(myself included)have often wondered what it would be like to pen a story of/around their lives and have it made into a major motion picture. After watching the remarkable story of young Antwone Fisher,I kinda feel like he EARNED his right to fill up two hours of screen time,and director/co-star Washington,the producers and cast of this show do that story plenty of justice. Antwone can be proud of many accomplishments,this one of them.