Review: I really wasn't a big fan of this movie because it takes ages for something to happen and when it does, it still isn't that great. Its basically about a man who gets released from prison after killing a police officer and he tries to fit back into everyday life. The cops make his life hell because he murdered one of there own, so he struggles to fight against his violent impulses whilst staying true to his new found Islamic faith. When he finally gets pushed to the edge, he is forced to take matters into his own hands which goes against his trusty parole officer rules and his new found religion. All the way through the film, Forest Whitaker is being his usual moody self, trying to make an honest life for him and his girlfriend. Harvey Keitel is only in a few scenes so you stuck with a moody movie which really gets boring after a while. Once Whitaker reaches breaking point, the showdown at the end wasn't that great but I did like his parole officer who was played by Brenda Blethyn. Anyway, I personally got fed up with the movie after a while and I didn't find it that entertaining. Disappointing!
Round-Up: Forest Whitaker has become one of the most moody actors of all time. He very rarely cracks a smile in any of his films, except for films like Our Family Wedding, Phenomenon and Good Morning Vietnam which were made earlier on in his career. He has put in some amazing performances in the Butler, the Last King of Scotland, Phone Booth and the Panic Room but I still find his acting quite hard to watch at times. Anyway, I didn't find his acting that great in this film and the script didn't help matters. It was made by the French director Rachid Bouchareb who brought you London River, Little Senegal and Just Like A Woman which were all low budget movies which didn't make it into the mainstream. Although this film had 2 big named stars, it still didn't get the big Hollywood distribution treatment because the concept was poor and quite depressing after a while.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their deep dramas about a violent man who finds religion in prison and finds it hard to deal with day to day life when he gets released. 2/10
Round-Up: Forest Whitaker has become one of the most moody actors of all time. He very rarely cracks a smile in any of his films, except for films like Our Family Wedding, Phenomenon and Good Morning Vietnam which were made earlier on in his career. He has put in some amazing performances in the Butler, the Last King of Scotland, Phone Booth and the Panic Room but I still find his acting quite hard to watch at times. Anyway, I didn't find his acting that great in this film and the script didn't help matters. It was made by the French director Rachid Bouchareb who brought you London River, Little Senegal and Just Like A Woman which were all low budget movies which didn't make it into the mainstream. Although this film had 2 big named stars, it still didn't get the big Hollywood distribution treatment because the concept was poor and quite depressing after a while.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their deep dramas about a violent man who finds religion in prison and finds it hard to deal with day to day life when he gets released. 2/10