Dead Presidents
3/4
Starring: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Rose Jackson, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright
Rated R for Strong Graphic Violence, Language, a Sex Scene and Some Drug Use
Anthony (Tate) is a good kid. Sure, he earns a couple bucks helping Kirby (David) run a numbers racket, but he has a quick smile and a positive personality. Unlike his brother (Isaiah Washington in a cameo), Anthony elects not to go to college but to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Marines. While in Vietnam, he witnesses and deals out death in equal measure. When he comes back, neither he nor his friends from high school Skip (Tucker) and Jose (Rodriguez) can find work (both of whom are vets as well). Juanita (Jackson), his girlfriend from high school nags him to find a better job. He begins to drink. Despite his best attempts to make something of himself, Anthony finds himself drifting into a life of crime.
What "Dead Presidents" lacks is a strong narrative and a clear sense of focus. The Hughes Brothers have set a daunting task for themselves: the film attempts to weave in elements of a coming-of-age story, a crime thriller, a saga of social upheaval and a robbery into one film. It's too much. Scenes seem to exist more to illustrate a point rather than because they fit in with the story. The struggle to keep it all together is evidenced by jarring transitions and abrupt jumps in time. Nor does the story have any real sense of closure.
That said, the film remains engaging. This is due in no small part to the skill of the actors. Personally, I didn't find Larenz Tate all that believable as a trigger-happy sociopath in "Menace II Society." He was too amped up and lacked the madness to pull off the character. Here, playing a much more grounded person, Tate shines. Anthony tries to do the right thing, but life doesn't turn out the way he anticipates (does it ever?) or he simply has the worst luck. Yet there is still an earnestness and charm that makes him easy to sympathize with. He also has a lot of support, including the always engaging Keith David, Chris Tucker in a seriocomic performance, and the delightful Rose Jackson.
Not to be left out are Allen and Albert Hughes. Roger got it right; these two know what they are doing. The film jumps around from topic to topic, but when it presents something, it's always effective. Nothing more so than the scenes of war, which are shockingly violent and graphic. These scenes are meant to disturb and the achieve their goal. And while the robbery doesn't come anywhere close to the one in "Heat" (which is admittedly a high bar) or even "Set it Off," it has its own power.
Watching Anthony try to survive in such a turbulent time of personal and social upheaval is compelling. What happens to him feels fresh and original, even if it isn't. Especially during the scenes in Vietnam, where he goes from idealist to realist and has to make an impossible choice (one whose outcome I couldn't predict). But he feels like a pawn in his own life. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the real tragedy of this movie is that Anthony, despite his best attempts, never had any control over his own life. But that's true of everyone, isn't it? Guess we should be glad we don't have as bad of luck as Anthony.
Starring: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Rose Jackson, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright
Rated R for Strong Graphic Violence, Language, a Sex Scene and Some Drug Use
"'Dead Presidents' suggests that the Hughes Brothers, whose great film 'Menace II Society' was finished when they were only 21, are born filmmakers. They have a sure sense of the camera, of actors, of the life within a scene. But they are not as sure when it comes to story and meaning, and here is a film that feels incomplete, as if its last step is into thin air. Scene by scene you feel its skill, but you leave the theater wondering about the meaning of it all."That is the opening paragraph of the late great Roger Ebert's review of "Dead Presidents." I share that view. There is a lot of good stuff in this movie. The performances are strong. The film is crisply directed and visually interesting. And it's rarely boring. However, if you were to ask me to tell you what it was about, I would find it hard to do so.
Anthony (Tate) is a good kid. Sure, he earns a couple bucks helping Kirby (David) run a numbers racket, but he has a quick smile and a positive personality. Unlike his brother (Isaiah Washington in a cameo), Anthony elects not to go to college but to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Marines. While in Vietnam, he witnesses and deals out death in equal measure. When he comes back, neither he nor his friends from high school Skip (Tucker) and Jose (Rodriguez) can find work (both of whom are vets as well). Juanita (Jackson), his girlfriend from high school nags him to find a better job. He begins to drink. Despite his best attempts to make something of himself, Anthony finds himself drifting into a life of crime.
What "Dead Presidents" lacks is a strong narrative and a clear sense of focus. The Hughes Brothers have set a daunting task for themselves: the film attempts to weave in elements of a coming-of-age story, a crime thriller, a saga of social upheaval and a robbery into one film. It's too much. Scenes seem to exist more to illustrate a point rather than because they fit in with the story. The struggle to keep it all together is evidenced by jarring transitions and abrupt jumps in time. Nor does the story have any real sense of closure.
That said, the film remains engaging. This is due in no small part to the skill of the actors. Personally, I didn't find Larenz Tate all that believable as a trigger-happy sociopath in "Menace II Society." He was too amped up and lacked the madness to pull off the character. Here, playing a much more grounded person, Tate shines. Anthony tries to do the right thing, but life doesn't turn out the way he anticipates (does it ever?) or he simply has the worst luck. Yet there is still an earnestness and charm that makes him easy to sympathize with. He also has a lot of support, including the always engaging Keith David, Chris Tucker in a seriocomic performance, and the delightful Rose Jackson.
Not to be left out are Allen and Albert Hughes. Roger got it right; these two know what they are doing. The film jumps around from topic to topic, but when it presents something, it's always effective. Nothing more so than the scenes of war, which are shockingly violent and graphic. These scenes are meant to disturb and the achieve their goal. And while the robbery doesn't come anywhere close to the one in "Heat" (which is admittedly a high bar) or even "Set it Off," it has its own power.
Watching Anthony try to survive in such a turbulent time of personal and social upheaval is compelling. What happens to him feels fresh and original, even if it isn't. Especially during the scenes in Vietnam, where he goes from idealist to realist and has to make an impossible choice (one whose outcome I couldn't predict). But he feels like a pawn in his own life. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the real tragedy of this movie is that Anthony, despite his best attempts, never had any control over his own life. But that's true of everyone, isn't it? Guess we should be glad we don't have as bad of luck as Anthony.
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