That's how you create addicts. Show them how good it feels while they're young and vulnerable, no matter how street smart they claim to be. And here, the drug is heroin, probably one the worst of the street drugs eever to destroy young lives. And here, it's a 13 year old, Larry B. Scott, living with his mother Cicely Tyson and her boyfriend Paul Winfield, and dealing with the struggles of life in South Central L. A. Scott admits to his best friend that it's easier to reject the attentions all the possible stepfather to be because men always leave, and that's easier to deal with than being hurt.
Scott's best pal is the bigger Joey Green who doesn't want to touch the stuff offered to them first for $2 and then for free, knowing that it's bad, and the dealers threaten to beat him up before kicking him out. Watching young Scott do this stuff is painful because you know where it's going to lead, and for a 13 year old actor, that's an incredible project to take on. Amazing that this young man would go on to play the flamboyant Lamar in "Revenge of the Nerds", the black gay college student with a heart of gold.
The presence of David Groh ("Rhoda") as a white English teacher in a practically all black school also adds some racial discussions with the presence of fellow teacher Glynn Turman that are very thought-provoking. It brings out the questions of racism and prejudices in all of the equations, and unfortunately, no answers are given. Helen Martin is always a welcome present, playing Tyson's loving mother, seen being brutally mugged and beaten up early in the film. Winfield is quite different than he was in "Sounder", quite a player and a bit of a phony. It's not exactly a flattering character, but he plays it very well.
But the story is about Benjie (Scott) who does all of the predictable things to get money so he can get the drugs, and how he is charmed by the pusher is disturbing to watch. The Academy Awards used to honor the best in juvenal performances, and Scotts Performance certainly would be up there with actors from the golden age that one, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
It's a very difficult film to watch but extremely well acted and realistic, certainly not one you'd see on TV as a movie of the week. The acting is so real that's your really feel you are witnessing a camera on the street filming the situation as it happened, and this film truly stands the march of time in sadly not being dated outside of the fact that different street drugs has taken over and are probably easier to get now then they were and this was made 45 years ago.
Scott's best pal is the bigger Joey Green who doesn't want to touch the stuff offered to them first for $2 and then for free, knowing that it's bad, and the dealers threaten to beat him up before kicking him out. Watching young Scott do this stuff is painful because you know where it's going to lead, and for a 13 year old actor, that's an incredible project to take on. Amazing that this young man would go on to play the flamboyant Lamar in "Revenge of the Nerds", the black gay college student with a heart of gold.
The presence of David Groh ("Rhoda") as a white English teacher in a practically all black school also adds some racial discussions with the presence of fellow teacher Glynn Turman that are very thought-provoking. It brings out the questions of racism and prejudices in all of the equations, and unfortunately, no answers are given. Helen Martin is always a welcome present, playing Tyson's loving mother, seen being brutally mugged and beaten up early in the film. Winfield is quite different than he was in "Sounder", quite a player and a bit of a phony. It's not exactly a flattering character, but he plays it very well.
But the story is about Benjie (Scott) who does all of the predictable things to get money so he can get the drugs, and how he is charmed by the pusher is disturbing to watch. The Academy Awards used to honor the best in juvenal performances, and Scotts Performance certainly would be up there with actors from the golden age that one, Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
It's a very difficult film to watch but extremely well acted and realistic, certainly not one you'd see on TV as a movie of the week. The acting is so real that's your really feel you are witnessing a camera on the street filming the situation as it happened, and this film truly stands the march of time in sadly not being dated outside of the fact that different street drugs has taken over and are probably easier to get now then they were and this was made 45 years ago.