A handsome directorial debut for actor Denzel Washington, Antwone Fisher succeeds in making a cinematically top-notch, feel-good movie. Washington’s success is not only limited to his directing, but he can act in this film as well. With a slur of first-timers in the line-up, another incredible performance comes from Derek Luke, who plays Antwone. This is a stylishly well-shot feature, done with excellent skill, and proves that rookies can do just as well as veterans. This year, I gave films by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson the same rating as Antwone Fisher. I am not, by any means, saying that Washington is as knowledgeable as these master-filmmakers, but I am trying to make a point. After spending so much time on various sets, lending his acting talents to several films, Washington learned a lot from some very good directors. His first attempt at making his own flick is nothing short of artful. I wonder what he will have accomplished in twenty years from now.

     Based on a true story, Antwone Fisher tells the miraculous tale of a boy’s survival through life. Born in prison, with no one to take care of him, Antwone (Derek Luke) was placed in an adoptions facility. Most people involved in his case expected that when his mother was released from jail, she would retain him, and they would live a normal life together. She never did, though. Young Antwone was adopted by an incredibly mean lady named Mrs. Tate. Along with three other adopted boys, Fisher was physically abused by Mrs. Tate, until she abandoned in him. He was placed back into an adoptions facility, until his eighteenth birthday, when he was released to a homeless shelter. He only stayed there for one night, and then took up life on the street. After sleeping on a few park benches, with only sixty-eight dollars in his pocket, Antwone enrolled in the Navy. His terrible childhood, full of hate and despair, continued to haunt him through his military days. He continuously got into fights with other Navy sailors because of psychological trauma, and was considered for a discharge. His life was changed by one person, though. The psychiatrist he was sent to by the Navy, named Jerome Davenport (Denzel Washington).