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(More customer reviews)This movie is based on a true story about Carl Upchurch(Omar Epps). The movie shows that despite your background, you can make a positive change, and make a difference in other people's lives. The movie starts out showing Upchurch waking up from a dream, and then you flashback into various stages of his life. Philly 1958 shows him with his mother, who does nothing but cuss and fuss at him while getting ready for a date. Flash forward Upchurch is upset one of his friends has been murdered and resorts to violence as payback. In 1974 he is in Milan Federal Prison. He gets out, and ends up in Prison again in 1975, this time Lewisburg Prison. It's here he starts to read, and educate himself. When he is in Western State Penitentiary he meets a teacher (Dana Delany) who sees his potential, and her patience helps him embrace education. Upchurch goes on to get a degree while in prison, and upon his release instead of going to his old neighborhood, he lives with the teacher and her family who helped her while he was incarcerated.
He ends up in prison for the last time (this time though it was really through no fault of his own), but while he is in prison this last time, he takes to teaching others. He reads to prisoners, and shows them that with education, they can empower themselves. Upon his release, his desire to see black men stop destroying themselves with gang violence he forms an organization called the Council for Urban Peace and Justice. He will use this organization to hold gang summits calling for the end of gang violence. His goal is show black youth, and men that they can change their lives for the better.
He also marries a young lady he meets in college. This is the one woman he has come to trust, and who accepts him for who he is. He also eventually befriends another prisoner who is white that he meets again when he returns to prison. This prisoner teased Upchurch the whole time they were in jail, but it's obvious when they meet again, that Upchurch had a positive influence on him also. They both make a vow to stop living the way they have been, and stay out of prison.
The movie has to pack a lot in the 1 hour 39 minutes, but you get the gist of this dramatic film. Omar plays his role well. Going from being bitter about his childhood, to realizing that he does not have to be a product of his environment. He, and he alone can change the course of his life, and he encourages others to do the same. Treach has a small role in the film being a prison bully. One of the other things that captured my attention is how he acknowledges that he went back to the old neighborhood without a solid plan. Which is what happens to many men who had been jailed. They get out, and they just go back to their old environments. It's inevitable they will fall back into their old ways. If you are looking for some kind of hard core prison film, you won't get it. Though his life is depicted a little in prison, the emphasis is more about his life and the changes he makes once he gets out. Charles S. Dutton has a very, very small role portraying Upchurch's father. The only thing he teaches his son is "don't let anyone get up on you", which translates to "use violence to get your way." Needless to say it was obvious that his father was not a positive influence in his life. The movie packs a lot in this 1 hour 39 min. drama, but it left me wanting more. I would have liked to have heard what he said to these gang leaders, and the outcome of the summit.
All in all it's a decent movie. It's not great, but it's decent.
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