IN A WORLD WHERE CRIMINALS MAKE THE RULES AN INNOCENT BOY IS OUT TO BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME.
12-year-old Brooklyn drug dealer Fresh (Sean Nelson) knows how to play that game, but when he witnesses a double murder he must try to outwit older and tougher criminals. Boaz Yakin’s directing debut showed how a writer of action movies could transform himself into a filmmaker with greater ambition. He creates a rough world for the main character, a place where Black children find themselves selling drugs and getting killed in the mean streets. Nelson, showing great maturity in spite of his age, is terrific as the kid who tries to stay as calm and dignified as possible. The director also avoids easy solutions.
1994-U.S-France. 112 min. Color. Produced by Randy Ostrow, Lawrence Bender. Written and directed by Boaz Yakin. Music: Stewart Copeland. Cast: Sean Nelson (Fresh), Giancarlo Esposito (Esteban), Samuel L. Jackson (Sam), N’Bushe Wright, Ron Brice, Jean LaMarre. Cameo: F. Murray Abraham.
Last word: “Samuel is pretty intense on set. I had difficulty executing the crying scene, so he started slapping me to help me cry. I appreciated him trying, but it did not work! I had to dig deep. Then, I cried.” (Nelson, Grungecake)
