Boyz N the Hood

Time Out says

South Central LA, 1984: anxious that her son will fall prey to the drug-related violence of the local gangs, ten-year-old Tre Styles' mother hands the boy over to her estranged husband, Furious (Fishburne). Seven years later, his father's strict lessons in the art of taking responsibility have ensured Tre's moral strength, black pride and rigorous self-discipline; but in a community ravaged by crack, poverty, police harassment and guns, it's hard to stay true to one's principles when life-long friends are shot at and revenge is called for. If the coming-of-age story is in itself hardly original, and the speeches are sometimes a mite preachy, writer/director Singleton (his debut) mounts his arguments forcefully and clearly. But what makes the film so affecting is the no-nonsense direction and Singleton's sure, specific sense of the rewards and hardships of community; in this, he is lent excellent support from a fine cast.

Author: GA