The story is familiar and one can't help but compare this to other psychiatrist films but what the main character reveals from his past is much more horrible than the rest of them. Story takes place in San Diego where Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) is a sailor that has a bad temper and frequently gets into fights with his fellow seamen so his commanding officer sends him to Navy Psychiatrist Dr. Jerome Davenport (Denzel Washington). It takes a while for Antwone to open up but once he does he reveals a past that it truly heartbreaking. He was born in prison where his mother was an inmate and once she got out she never came for him. His father was killed when he was an infant and he had to live in a very abusive foster home.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Antwone meets Cheryl (Joy Bryant) and they start to date and this helps him to respond better to people in general and eventually Dr. Davenport tells him that he needs to find his real family for some closure. Antwone and Cheryl fly back to Cleveland where he confronts some of the people from his past so that he can try and track down his mother.
This is Washington's directorial debut and he does an admirable job of painting a thorough picture of Antwone and even though the film could have benefited from some tighter editing it's still a film that delivers all the emotional goods. Arguably the most impressive thing about this film is the casting of Luke who was a total unknown actor with a mere handful of television credits to his resume and obviously Washington knew he possessed the right goods to pull off the role. Two things seem to hurt this film (Somewhat) and the first is the familiarity of the storyline. We have all seen lots of psychiatrist/patient films like "Good Will Hunting", "Equus", and "Prince of Tides" but this definitely does have something extra to add to the genre. The main flaw of the film comes from the side story of Washington's relationship with his wife and the end speech that he gives Antwone is ridiculous. "Thank you Antwone, for making me a better doctor and a better man", "I salute you". C'mon, did anyone really buy that? But the scene towards the end of the film where he meets his new family packs an emotional wallop that just can't be forgotten. Film is well made and the lead performance by Luke is a real standout.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Antwone meets Cheryl (Joy Bryant) and they start to date and this helps him to respond better to people in general and eventually Dr. Davenport tells him that he needs to find his real family for some closure. Antwone and Cheryl fly back to Cleveland where he confronts some of the people from his past so that he can try and track down his mother.
This is Washington's directorial debut and he does an admirable job of painting a thorough picture of Antwone and even though the film could have benefited from some tighter editing it's still a film that delivers all the emotional goods. Arguably the most impressive thing about this film is the casting of Luke who was a total unknown actor with a mere handful of television credits to his resume and obviously Washington knew he possessed the right goods to pull off the role. Two things seem to hurt this film (Somewhat) and the first is the familiarity of the storyline. We have all seen lots of psychiatrist/patient films like "Good Will Hunting", "Equus", and "Prince of Tides" but this definitely does have something extra to add to the genre. The main flaw of the film comes from the side story of Washington's relationship with his wife and the end speech that he gives Antwone is ridiculous. "Thank you Antwone, for making me a better doctor and a better man", "I salute you". C'mon, did anyone really buy that? But the scene towards the end of the film where he meets his new family packs an emotional wallop that just can't be forgotten. Film is well made and the lead performance by Luke is a real standout.