Few movies accurately portray the everyday struggles of minorities living in a world divided by racial inequality and segregation in modern day. Movies about racial struggles in the past? Plentiful. But movies showing the struggles of one race are hard to find. Perhaps this is why Boyz N the Hood is such a stirring tale of hardships and truths; because in this film the racial conflicts aren't between those of different races but those struggles within one neighborhood of African-Americans where ideas for what the future will be like differ from person to person.
Jason "Furious" Styles (Laurence Fishburne) is a divorced father trying to raise his son with morals, goals, and expectations that will set him apart from the world he lives in. Furious doesn't want us son to grow up and join a gang, he has higher expectations and ambitions even if his son can't understand that. As the years go by and Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) grows up, he does in fact follow the path set out for him by Furious; he's in high standing in his high school and it seems as if he has a bright future ahead of him. While he's excited for his future, the same can't be said of his friends and their lives. Darin Baker (Ice Cube) on of Tre's childhood friends doesn't have any goals outside of his neighborhood, though he's perfectly okay with that; he's accepted the life in the hood and seems content to stay there. On the other hand we have Ricky Baker (Chestnut), Darin's brother, who is an aspiring football star with a possible scholarship to USC.
Tre, Darin, and Ricky spend their last few months as a trio in their small LA suburb and deal with the poverty, alcoholism, and crime that runs rampant therein. Each has their own unique perspectives on life in the hood and act accordingly with the challenges they face. As the three go along, they eventually wind up on the wrong side of a gang's good graces and the trio's troubles take off. Now all three are banded together not only in the struggles of everyday life, but now to stay alive long enough to enjoy their futures. The movie comes to a moving climactic moment and the ending is a breathtaking masterpiece.
Laurence Fishburne could call this the role of his lifetime; Furious is inspiring, frightening, and the kindest and most intelligent soul to appear in film in a long time. I'd go as far as to call him a new generation's Atticus Finch. Furious endears himself to all he meets through his honest and wise words and unflinching ideals that lead him to do whatever is right. He was well cast for this part and he portrays the kind of mentor that everyone should be so lucky to have.
Cuba Gooding Jr. also excels in his role as Tre and does a beautiful job keeping his emotions perfectly inline with Boyz N the Hood. The idea that Tre wants to remain a true friend and yet not get caught up in the dangerous lifestyles they lead is an excellent source of inner turmoil and conflict which Cuba has no difficulty getting across. One of my favorite, if not the only Cuba Gooding Jr. movie I truly love.
Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut play off each other like few others manage to achieve. They're constantly clashing over their different ideals and expectations in life. While one has succumbed to a life of alcohol, crimes, and drugs, the other is trying to go in the opposite direction. Beautifully acted by both. A proud acting moment for rappers turned actors everywhere.
This movie is beautifully acted and directed. The story is as relevant today as it was a few years back, and that could be the saddest part of this movie. This movie happens everyday in ghettos across the nation and yet this film is the closest many Americans will ever get to seeing the truth.
If you're ready for an eye-opening and thoughtful film, then try Boyz N the Hood.
"Boyz N the Hood" opens July 12, 1991 and is rated R. Drama. Written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr, Hudhail Al Amir, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long.
