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:

15 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 Antwone shows the plane tickets to his girlfriend, they are clearly American Airline tickets. Yet when their plane is shown touching down in Cleveland, the colors of the plane are not those of American Airlines.

Quotes:

Jerome Davenport: "Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone / Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own"
Antwone Fisher: "Who will cry for the little boy, he cried himself to sleep / Who will cry for the little boy, who never had it for keeps / Who will cry for the little boy, who walked on burning sands / Who will cry for the little boy, the boy inside a man / Who will cry for the little boy, who knew well hurt and pain / Who will cry for the little boy, who died and died again / Who will cry for the little boy, a good boy he tried to be / Who will cry for the little boy, who cries inside of me"
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Antwone Fisher' (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Marine Corps Jody

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