Denzel Washington's debut as a director starts off as a lively, if very familiar pairing of troubled seaman Fisher (Derek Luke in a fine performance) and a Navy psychiatrist (well-played by Washington) assigned to find out why his patient has a hair-trigger temper which leads him to violence.
As Fisher goes through the usual scenes of initial distrust until that first breakthrough, we begin to see the harsh reality of the man's childhood, one marked by abandonment and traumatic physical & sexual abuse at the hands of a foster family.
In the meantime, we're also provided with Fisher's first romance with a fellow female in the Navy, as well as a glimpse of Washington's troubled marriage.
Once it's clear that Fisher is on the way to recovery, the film loses it's narrative energy and starts to drag. The story is certainly engrossing in itself, but the presentation (i.e. the direction) is pretty by-the-book, which ultimately grows wearisome.
While Fisher's story is largely fact-based, the dramatic arc is no different than many other stories of the same nature, so it would have served Washington well if he had shaped the material differently so that it wouldn't seem so familiar - no matter how inspiring. Also, the romance between Fisher and the woman is charming, but pretty mild in its dramatic impact.
There is one powerful scene near the end where Fisher finally meets the birth mother who abandoned him. Viola Davis, an excellent actress who got a well-deserved Tony Award for her work in August Wilson's "King Hedley II," has few lines in this scene, but she doesn't need them. Her face and body language do more than words could.
Unfortunately, the effect of this scene is undercut by the next scene, an unbelievable ending in which Fisher is greeted by the entire extended family of his late birth father - somehow, his aunt managed to get the entire clan together in a matter of an hour or so and put together a breakfast feast. "Uplifting"? Yes, but far-fetched. Films don't need to work this hard to drive home the importance of family.
As Fisher goes through the usual scenes of initial distrust until that first breakthrough, we begin to see the harsh reality of the man's childhood, one marked by abandonment and traumatic physical & sexual abuse at the hands of a foster family.
In the meantime, we're also provided with Fisher's first romance with a fellow female in the Navy, as well as a glimpse of Washington's troubled marriage.
Once it's clear that Fisher is on the way to recovery, the film loses it's narrative energy and starts to drag. The story is certainly engrossing in itself, but the presentation (i.e. the direction) is pretty by-the-book, which ultimately grows wearisome.
While Fisher's story is largely fact-based, the dramatic arc is no different than many other stories of the same nature, so it would have served Washington well if he had shaped the material differently so that it wouldn't seem so familiar - no matter how inspiring. Also, the romance between Fisher and the woman is charming, but pretty mild in its dramatic impact.
There is one powerful scene near the end where Fisher finally meets the birth mother who abandoned him. Viola Davis, an excellent actress who got a well-deserved Tony Award for her work in August Wilson's "King Hedley II," has few lines in this scene, but she doesn't need them. Her face and body language do more than words could.
Unfortunately, the effect of this scene is undercut by the next scene, an unbelievable ending in which Fisher is greeted by the entire extended family of his late birth father - somehow, his aunt managed to get the entire clan together in a matter of an hour or so and put together a breakfast feast. "Uplifting"? Yes, but far-fetched. Films don't need to work this hard to drive home the importance of family.