Fresh (1999, DVD)

I remember when I first saw this movie. Back in college, someone rented it for a dorm function, and once the lights darkened, everyone in the room was spellbound by the gripping story unfolding before them. When the lights came up after it was finally over, we were all like, whoa, that was deep. We must have stayed in the viewing room for over an hour analyzing and discussing it trying to figure out all the angles and critical points in the film. Fresh is one of those movies that you definitely want to talk about with friends after it s over.

Something made me think of the movie recently, so I checked here in Epinions to see what others thought of it. What??? Only three reviews? This film deserves so much more than that. So, although I hardly ever stray from music and electronic opinions, here I m going to review Fresh on Video & DVD.

Plot Summary
Fresh is the story of a young teen living in the projects of Brooklyn, New York. Don t mistake this for another of those tired urban dramas , though. This film makes no excuses, apologies, or justifications. It just happens that the setting needs to be urban for the story to unfold.

The movie stars Sean Nelson (American Pie, The Wood) as the twelve year old nicknamed Fresh . He lives in an apartment with his sister and several of his cousins (all those kids are not his brothers and sisters. This is a major point.), under the weary eye of his Aunt Frances. She s obviously physically and mentally exhausted from having to care for so many children in such a hostile environment. She genuinely has feelings for all the children, but only so much as she can allow herself to. The actress does an excellent job of relaying this to the audience.

Fresh s only sibling is his drug-addicted older sister Nicole, played by actress N Bushe Wright (Blade, Three Strikes). He desperately wants to protect her from the drugs and other negative influences of their environment, but since he s only a child, he doesn t have the means or the knowledge of how to go about it.

The young protagonist s only real escape are the games of speed chess he plays in the park with his estranged father Sam, played by Oscar-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson (Unbreakable, Rules of Engagement). Jackson s character is one of the best speed chess players in the city and has the trophies to prove it. Stapled to the wall of his dilapidated mobile home, he has money autographed by some ranked World-Class chess players as proof that he defeated them in speed chess. Sam knows that chess becomes a vastly different game when the speed clock is applied, and that even the best regular chess players tend to make mistakes or completely fold under it s pressure. He even says this about a hypothetical match with the enigmatic Charlie Fischer, put the clock on him. I ll eat his a** up. Under his father s strict tutelage, Fresh has become an extremely skilled chess player, easily defeating some of the best adult players in the park.

Fresh helps support his family (and apparently his candy bar habit) by running drugs. Being the young entrepreneur that he is, he chooses to run drugs for two different local drug dealers. On one hand, he runs cocaine for the ruthless dealer Corky (Ron Brice, Clockers, Basquiat), then runs heroin for Esteban, played by the talented Giancarlo Esposito (Monkeybone, Do the Right Thing). Esteban, although a married family man, is desperately in love (lust is probably a better word) with Fresh s sister. You ll shudder in the scene where Esteban describes to Fresh what it s like to be with Nicole. It s very twisted.

The major change for Fresh happens after he watches his schoolyard crush get shot to death by stray bullets from a dispute over a basketball pick-up game. Fresh silently decides to find a way for he and his sister to escape the madness. It s like he realizes at that point, that his dream to escape the ghetto has to happen now, for he may not live to see it realized tomorrow. The only two tools he has available to him are the few thousand dollars he s saved from drug running, and his mind, honed and disciplined by a lifetime of playing speed chess with his father. He sets up a chessboard in his room, with each piece representing a person in his life that he must use to accomplish the goal. His friends, his family, his employers, and even his sister all become chess pieces and his neighborhood becomes the board. With a single move, the game begins.

Acting
The acting in Fresh is nothing short of superb. Sean Nelson is brilliant as Fresh. He manages to relate most of Fresh s thoughts and emotions to the audience, without changing the character s stoic demeanor. There s one scene where Fresh angrily slaps a strung-out woman, and in that moment, you instantly know he s thinking of his sister. I don t know how he accomplished this, but it s absolutely amazing that he s able to relay those thoughts with very few visual cues.

Samuel L. Jackson flourishes in the edgy, unpredictable roles he loves to take, and it s no different here. He does an excellent job playing the absent father who s trying to be a parent to his son, but has absolutely no idea how to go about it. N Bushe Wright performs admirably as Fresh s strung out sister, showing her character s knowledge of how deadly and degrading her lifestyle is, but the addiction s hold leaves her powerless to make a change. She desperately wants to be the strong, loving older sister that Fresh wants her to be, but the reality of her existence has just overwhelmed her.

The supporting cast all turn in top-notch performances as well. Esposito is simply hypnotizing as the heroin dealer who s as addicted to Fresh s sister as she is to his drugs. Brice is very convincing as the paranoid and fearsome Corky. Even the child actors turn in nice acting jobs. You ll be begging for the garrulous trash-talker Chucky (Luis Lantigua) to shut his mouth just once, even though you know his affinity for talking is key in Fresh s plans.

Direction
I was extremely impressed by Boaz Yakin s direction in Fresh. He uses no gimmicks or tricks, because none are necessary to tell the story. Yakin just uses fundamental scenes and shots, making sure that the watcher is involved in the move, but never overwhelmed by it. He also thankfully spares us the scenes of gratuitous violence that are present in so many other entries in the urban drama genre and movies today in general. He allows the gunshots and beatdowns to be obscured, or occur at a distance or off-screen, so as not to shove the violence down the moviegoers throats. We ve all seen what happens when bullets perforate the human body in other movies. Yakin s direction keeps us from having to sit through it again.

Overall
So to anyone who s tired of watching trite, uninspired urban dramas and is just looking for a good movie, please seek out Fresh. The storyline is compelling, the acting is almost flawless, and the direction is seamless. I very highly recommend renting or buying this movie. You will not be disappointed.