Fresh

Fresh is one of those movies that you never see coming. From the opening credits until the end, it provides you with this deep, gritty, yet utterly realistic portrayal of a youth's mind on the streets. While our normal society will shrug a struggling African American living in the ghetto as someone without the intelligence to go forward in life. It is a sad reality in which we live, but it is a thought that goes through suburbia's minds. This film proves the age-old saying that you should never judge a book by its cover. What begins as a normal urban drama quickly unfolds into this tightly woven crime story where we have this unexpected hero that arrives from nowhere to pull of this incredible feat. With perfect acting, the right combination of drama and action coupled with suspense, and a story that literally keeps you glued to your seat until the very end, it surprises me that more people haven't discovered this cinematic gem and attached themselves to it.

To begin, Sean Nelson is brilliant. I have not seen better acting from a young adult in my entire film life. Dakota Fanning comes close, but Nelson's emotion seems to be raw and uncreated by Hollywood. His reactions and passion behind his eyes is intense and compelling at the same time. You cannot watch this movie without keeping your eyes glued to this kid. I am very surprised that he has not done more roles that would be able to showcase this young protégé's talent. He interacts well with the other actors as well, giving us this rare glimpse into a world that many of us may not be familiar with. He takes us away from the clichéd child abandoned on the streets with nothing to loose and gives us faith in the family structure and bonds that are created between humans. Sometimes I think we forget this as we watch our televisions, buy our cars, and spend our money. There are important aspects in life, but at times our ideas of that can be skewed. That is what I love about Sean's role in this film. He defines himself early, and allows us to see his change clearly throughout the film. He begins as wanting to have a lot of money and power to using what he has earned to save his family and his friends. There is something redeemable about that which isn't shown as much in films today.

Add to the brilliant work of Sean Nelson are a couple of actors that really played well of the emotional child. Giancarlo Esposito, N'Bushe Wright, Jean-Claude La Marre, Ron Brice, and the unquenchable Sam Jackson are just a few. Nelson's ability to play off Jackson's intensity with the greatest of ease is just another glowing example of the power behind this film. You can honestly see where Fresh's talent began with the strong father/son dynamic that director Boaz Yakin has created. Yakin has crafted this beautiful story of a child's inner demons and desires with the greatest of ease. As a director, he has pulled more emotion out of these children than I have ever seen with any other child actors. Where he takes his story is bold and realistic. The dirtiness and grime of the streets contrasted with the intelligence of this child was nerve racking and intense. I loved it. Yakin had to be proud of himself to find such a great cast to work with as well as create this story that could be enjoyed by audience throughout the ages.

Finally, I would like to comment on one of the most important themes of this film that I didn't realize until closer to the end. Chess is a huge element in this film, and at first you will not see this, but by the end it will hit you like a brick. The power that Jackson brings to this young boy's mind simply by teaching him the strategies of chess is insurmountable. While I thought that Yakin was just trying to define the father/son relationship with this game, there was so much more going on underneath the top layer that I wasn't expecting it from this small title. I think that is what impressed me so much.

Overall, this film is great. It is boldly honest and originally beautiful (in repetition of myself) that needs to be re-released or remembered time after time. I am so glad that I discovered it and cannot wait to show it to friends and family. It is nothing short of the perfect film!

Grade: ***** out of *****

This film will completely astound you. Unspoiled by the gangsta rap, and glamorisation of street culture that normally pervades a 'black' film, it tells the story of the 12-year old, chess-playing, drug-dealing streetwise genius, Fresh.

Living in poverty with 11 others in his aunt's house, and using his wits to survive, he slowly gets trapped deeper and deeper in the world of drugs, a world in which all his loyalties are challenged.

Most 'hood films either satirise black culture completely with their loud, cool attitudes, or on the other become touchy-feely anti-drugs schmaltz. This is the ONLY film I have seen to tread the thin line between them and come away looking not only credible, but superbly enjoyable.

Both Giancarlo Esposito (the smooth talking drugs dealer) and Samuel L. Jackson (the alcoholic chess-master tramp) give strong, realistic performances in challenging roles. The other characters (like N'Bushe Wright's portrayal of Fresh's sister) are also incredibly well played, and every single one of them is believable.

However, the main credit HAS to go to Sean Nelson. I have never seen such a dignified performance, and i can honestly say that I was AMAZED at how involving the film was. You could empathise with him every step of the way. He was never overly emotional, yet never came across as being arrogant and calculating. He plays the 'streetwise genius' role to perfection, again, remaining completely credible.

The script was also fantastic. Full marks to Boaz Yakin for such an accurate picture of life in the ghetto. This is not a film for those who want the cheap formulaic thrills of violence, sex and guns that are so prevalent today. There are no special effects, no overly violent scenes. Instead, the movie relies on superb acting and a relentless drive for gritty realism.

I cannot recommend this film enough to anyone who appreciates drama - it will really open your eyes.

Many comments confirm the strength of this movie in simple manipulation of an camera eye. Well, that's true. You will not find any fancy FXs here. But, does it make the picture less spectacular? Of course not. Script is brilliant. Whole plot resembles well played chess game telling the story about violence and losing innocence. This is not only a game in an explicit chess meaning. Main characters , wonderfully played by S. L. Jackson and Sean Nelson, are playing chess with themselves, struggling with their lives. There is another aspect of chess game that accompanies the plot till the end. Throughout duration of the movie chess puzzle gets clear. We can finally see where 'Fresh' is heading to and what he wants to achieve through his plan. Anyway, Boaz Yakin made one of the best movies of 94' , really worth seeing.

Mariusz Pelka

This movie didn't have to rely on BIG NAMES to make this movie great. It didn't have to rely on lots of on screen killing to be great. This movie was great because the dialog between the characters as well as the screen play were excellent all by themselves. The people who did play the parts DID justice to the characters they played. As the movie started and in the first 15 minutes, all I could think was this kid (Sean Nelson) was a punk trying to make a buck. I didn't realize, like most, until the end of the film what this kid was actaully doing, which was playing everyone like they were live chess pieces. He got what he wanted all by playing one against the other. This movie proved that a film does not have to be high budget or big names to be great. If that were the case, The Last Action Hero or Reindeer Games should win an OSCARS for Best Movie.

This is simply an incredible film. Deeply thought provoking, it is not for those of you who like your films to have guns, sex and violence. This is NOT a typical 'hood' film - there are no banging hiphop beats, no flash cars, and no cheesy action scenes.

It tells the story of a clever 12 year old brought up in a culture of danger, mistrust and urban decay. Sean Nelson displays a maturity which would guarantee any adult actor many millions a film, and the film never wavers from the incredibly high standards set by its fabulous scripting and casting.

The storyline is oddly compelling throughout, and never veers either towards the 'nannying' line that plagues so many drugs films, or the insane satire that kills off others. It moves at a healthy, but not crazy pace, and there are some truly chilling moments, which really make you ponder over humanity's capacity for mindless violence.

This is certainly the best film I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, and I advise anyone who craves intelligent, thoughtful films to go out and buy this one.