Review of Boyz n the Hood (1991) by Kevin N — 29 Sep 2011

One of the most important and affecting dramas of the 1990s. The film portrays the delicacy of human life better than almost any other movie I have ever seen, and throughout its brief running time it sweats and shakes, giving us an uneasy feeling despite every warm moment that occurs along the way.

Laurence Fishburne is a revelation as Furious Styles, an honest and caring father to his son Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr., who is also magnificent). The two of them are the bright spots in a world of darkness, where violence isn't forewarned as it is in Hollywood's gangster films; instead it comes in sporadic bursts, with no calculation and no mercy.

While Fishburne and Gooding were the ones who left me in awe, Ice Cube also gives a brilliant performance as Doughboy, a tough kid with good intentions but no aspirations and a short temper. He is violent in mood, but never for the sake of violence alone; he doesn't go looking for trouble but he will defend a friend at the link of an eye, and it's this loyalty that gets him in trouble.

This film is tragic but it isn't a tragedy; there is a lot of hope buried in its frames, and director John Singleton captures the beautiful moments with as much attention as he does the ugly ones.

He is not trying to damn races, places, cultures or cliques; he is trying to portray the purposelessness of street violence right alongside the ease of peace.