Boyz in the Hood - 1993

With Boyz in the Hood John Singleton became the youngest director in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Director. He was 24, and he was also nominated for Best Writing. He lost out to Silence of the Lambs in the Director cateogry, but was also nominated alongside Ridley Scott and Oliver Stone, so he was in a tough year. The Best Writing gong went to Callie Khouri for Thelma and Louise so he shouldn't feel dissapointed. He has however never managed to equal the brilliance of Boyz in the Hood, which is perhaps the most dissapointing thing about a career which looked so promising. The reason is perhaps that Boyz in the Hood feels autobiographical, and for that reason feels geniune, heartfelt and above all honest. For a genre (or should that be subgenre) the black gangster film has never reached such heights, and Boyz in the Hood is probably one of the best examples of "black cinema" since Spike Lee broke onto the scene.

A superb cast, led by Cuba Gooding Jr who plays Tre, Laurence Fishburne as his sagacious father (the key to his survival), Ice Cube as Doughboy and Morris Chestnut as Ricky. The film begins with these characters as 10 year old and we see there first real introduction to the gang mentality which will come to define and destroy most of their lives. The film is a little light on emotional depth and is perhaps a bit too moralistic and simplistic. Tre for example is better off and has a chance of survival simply because he has a father who loves him and who will protect him and educate him. Yet because this film feels drawn from Singleton's own live, this never becomes a problem, as you begin to understand that life in the black communities of America are probably just like this for young men. Overbearing mothers, posturing young men who feel the need to prove their masculinity, with the only real outlet being gun crime and gangs. Plus a level of poverty and a system which doesn't seem to have a place for these kids, and certainly very little hope for escape.

The film is held together by the powerful central performances from the three central friends and their differing outlook on life. Tre wants to go to college and has the brains to do so. Ricky has dreams of a becoming a pro football player and Doughboy, who has never been looked upon too kindly by his mother, is, by the time he's 20 already done time and so is already a lost cause in many ways.

A superb film about growing up in South Central, with excellent direction which reveals the truth and honesty behind its depiction and thanks to the strong performances of Gooding Jr, Ice Cube and Laurence Fishburne the film never fails to feel alive and genuine.