FRESH
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman
Writer-Director Boaz Yakin, in his first full-length film, has come up with a searing, terrifying movie about life in the ghetto for both blacks and Hispanics. It's the story of twelve-year-old Fresh (Sean Nelson), without a mother, who lives with his aunt in a crowded apartment with his sister (a junkie) (N'Bushe Wright) and almost a dozen cousins. His father, (Samuel L. Jackson), sits in the park and takes on all comers playing chess to earn himself a few dollars, so essentially, Fresh is also fatherless.
To earn some money, hoping one day to be "The Man" (the head of a dope ring), he sells cocaine and delivers smack for a couple of dealers, one black, the other Hispanic. In this ghetto of Hispanics and blacks, young Fresh keeps socking away his money for when he is older and can be his own drug boss.
Almost every other word spoken in the film is a cuss word except when one really wants to use a pejorative on someone (black or white), the vilest name they can think of is "Nigger."
Fate steps in when his school girl friend is fatally shot on a playground by a drug dealer who has gone momentarily berserk over a basketball game in the school yard. At this point he realizes that the drug dealers are a curse and must be destroyed. How he goes about doing that makes for a very exciting film.
Young Sean Nelson is perfect in his role as the sullen kid with his missions; at first, to grow up and takeover, later to seek revenge.
What is missing in the film is any mention of what brought the blacks and Hispanics to their plight. What about good schools, jobs and decent affordable housing? It would have been a better film if that had been included.
3 Bytes
4 Bytes = Absolutely must see. 3 Bytes = Too good to be missed. 2 Bytes = So so. 1 Byte = Save your money.
Ben Hoffman
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