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Fishing for Oscars?

It's been one of those very boring week in my existence. Yesterday, Jeffrey Wells posted an email I sent him in his column concerning The Antwone Fisher Story. Today, I've decided to follow up on that with my complete review of the script. Hope you enjoy it!

The Antwone Fisher Story Script Review

I'm not an emotional man. I weep very rarely. I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've cried in the last five years. I'm the typical alpha male. Crying at the movies has only happened twice in my life. It was Forrest Gump and Casablanca that got me. J-F, why the heck are you telling us that? Well my friends it's because I've never read anything quite like the screenplay for The Antwone Fisher Story. Written by Fisher himself and screenwriter David Murray, Denzel Washington handpicked this project for his directorial debut. The film is scheduled for release in December for possible Oscars contention.

Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) has not had an easy life. Raised in foster homes, he was abused throughout his childhood. After running away from home, he instantly enlisted in the Navy. But the demons from his past soon caught up with him. He began having problems with his fellow sailors. Ordered by his superiors to receive psychiatric help, he meets weekly with Lt. Commander Jerome Williams (Denzel Washington). Both men turn out to help each other more that they could have possibly thought.

There's an easy comparison to make between this project and Good Will Hunting. Both deal with extraordinary individuals who, with the help of a therapist, become better human beings. That much is the same but this story has more humanity. While GWH dealt with the physical abuse for merely one scene (It's not your fault), it's the main focus of the story here. Antwone Fisher's life is hard to swallow. His road to recovery is a miracle. It's written beautifully. We're unwrapping each layer of Antwone's brain slowly, another sordid discovery after another. The reality of this tale is extremely dark. It's so strong emotionally that it hurts. I felt compassion for Antwone. It touched me like nothing before. This is spectacular screenwriting. The final act almost reduced me to tears. There's really more to it than that, but I don't want to spoil too much. They do need to do something about the title though. I'm rooting for Finding Fish, the title of Fisher's autobiography.

ANTWONE
Sit in a room, tell your story to some doctor, and then everything gets better. You know that's just a fairy tale.

Can a newcomer like Derek Luke deliver a grand slam in his first appearance EVER at bat? We're about to discover if he can knock it out of the park. This isn't Matt Damon in GWH. It's deeper, more dramatic and more raw emotions. Here's hoping Denzel is able to bring out the best of this newcomer.

WILLIAMS
No you haven't. There's a hole a mile wide that you never go near, that you never even touch.
(impassioned)
Well time has come for you to touch it and to heal it. Do you hear me, Antwone. HEAL-IT.

This is another Oscar nomination for Denzel Washington. Williams doesn't say much but he commands the screen every time he appears. No doubt, Denzel is the right man for this role. Another side of Denzel's intensity is needed for this role. While Williams is intense in his therapy, he also has profound compassion for the troubled young man. Just the right dose of both will be needed to pull it off nicely. Denzel, one of the most talented actors working today, should have no problem playing this part. It's basically a walk in the park for the master thespian.

The other main concern of this project is another debut. This is Denzel's rookie turn at directing. Can he do justice to this material? He has certainly worked under a lot of talented helmers. I'm sure he picked up some tricks here and there. Test screenings will tell us immediately if he has it or not. Denzel is a perfectionist and he wouldn't allow anything less than the best for his first film.

Don't forget Antwone Fisher come December. It looks like a home run and I can't imagine this one turning into a foul ball.

Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org

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Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.