Antwone Fisher (2002)

Director:

Denzel Washington

Writer (WGA):

Antwone Fisher (written by)

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Inspired by a true story.

Plot:

Antwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Navy | Sailor | Beating | Anger

Awards:

14 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Derek Luke	...	Antwone Quenton 'Fish' Fisher
Malcolm David Kelley	...	Antwone Fisher Age 7
Cory Hodges	...	Antwone Fisher Age 14
Denzel Washington	...	Dr. Jerome Davenport
Joy Bryant	...	Cheryl Smolley
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Berta Davenport (as Salli Richardson)
Leonard Earl Howze	...	Pork Chop
Kente Scott	...	Kansas City (as Kenté Scott)
Kevin Connolly	...	Slim
Rainoldo Gooding	...	Grayson
Novella Nelson	...	Mrs. Tate
Stephen Snedden	...	Berkley
Leo Nepomuceno	...	SP #1
Sung Kang	...	Receptionist
Cordell Stokes	...	Keith Age 5

Also Known As:

Finding Fish (USA) (working title)
Fish (USA) (original script title)
The Antwone Fisher Story (USA) (working title)
Antwone Fisher (Greece) (TV title) [el]
Antwone Fisher (Canada: French title) [fr]
Antwone Fisher (Spain) [es]
Antwone Fisher, una victoria sobre el pasado (Spain) [es]
El triunfo del espíritu: Antwone Fisher (Argentina) [es]
Tapaus Antwone Fisher (Finland) [fi]
Voltando a Viver (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and mature thematic material involving child abuse.

Runtime:

120 min | Canada:117 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 (w) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39019) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Cabrillo National Monument, Point Loma, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

Antwone Fisher was working as a security guard at Sony Studios. Studio executives began hearing about his life story and offered to buy the rights. But Fisher refused insisting that he write the screenplay himself. Fisher wrote 41 drafts until he sold it to Fox.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Davenport has a session with Antwone at his home, virtually all the props behind Davenport have minds of their own, including: the small dark table the fruit sits on, the lamp, a long table, which first is off to Davenport's rear-left with the lamp and some folders on it, then directly behind Davenport. Later, the folders move to Davenport's rear-right. Also, when Antwone first sits down he's holding his glass of cider but it suddenly appears on the desk in the very next shot. We would have seen him set it there because the scene has no breaks in it. The level of liquid seems to vary incorrectly in some shots.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Jerome Davenport: Are you hungry, sailor?
Antwone Fisher: I could eat, sir.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Humpty Dance

Antwone Fisher

This is the ONLY movie I've ever been moved to write about. I rarely even watch movies let alone offer opinions, but this movie is exceptional in so many ways. The acting is powerful and believable (duh.. it's real..), and the entire story is totally captivating. I was watching on satellite and had to endure commercials, and it was sheer torture waiting for the movie to resume.

This has to be one of, if not THE finest film ever made. Congratulations to EVERYONE, especially MR. Fisher. I'm a 55 year old guy that teaches in Cleveland and I never thought I would cry, but there I was with tears streaming down my face, all alone in my living room late at night. This story should be told and retold for generations to come. Thank you Mr. Fisher, Mr. Washington, and everyone else. This was a life-changing experience - not a movie. God bless you all for putting this together. I just can't figure out why this movie is not huge forever. Well, I suppose I can hazard a guess, but I truly hope I'm wrong - I think we all know what that guess is...

Thanks again - not just for the movie, but for the most powerful message possible. If you haven't seen this movie, SEE IT NOW! You won't be sorry, but if you don't see it, you'll be missing the experience of a lifetime. BJL