Review of Street Smart (1987) by Jason C — 29 Jul 2009

The performance by Morgan Freeman in this film is one of those "legendary" film moments that noone seems to actually have seen. Well, I've finally seen it and it deserves all positive praise it has received in the years since its initial release. As the pimp Fast Black, Freeman treats his role like a slow burn. At first he seems reasonalbe (for a pimp at least), but with each subsequent scene he adds a layer of menace to his characterization until, by the films end, he has created a truely memorable screen villian. The rest of cast is good as well, but this is Freeman's picture.

As for the film as a whole, I found it to be an interesting exploration of ethics that used the collision of street life, journalism, and law to illustrate the complexity of those ethics and how people on all sides of the law can be seen as guilty through the guise of perspective. Certain moments ring truer then others but with a good script and some inspired casting this film rises above what could have been a trashy subject and becomes a more thought provoking work then one might expect.