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Feb 16 - Feb 23,2003 |
Overcoming real-life hardships
Actor Denzel Washington directs a true story about youthful troubles in Antwone Fisher
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2003-02-09
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Denzel Washington
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Los Angeles - This scribe has experienced the different moods of Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington. From defensive and uptight when talking about Devil in a Blue Dress, to politically serious when promoting Courage Under Fire, to playful when discussing Training Day. On this particular morning, the handsome and soft-spoken actor is the proud daddy of a brand new baby and his attitude is positive to the max.
"Of course I'm proud," he smiles. "It's my first one and I think it's perfect."
Indeed it is. Antwone Fisher, Washington's directorial debut, is a simple but solid character-driven true-life tale devoid of any big-budget effects and filmic gadgets that manages to instill enough emotional impact in the viewer to make it a winner.
Written by Antwone Fisher, the film centres on the young navy man (played by newcomer Derek Luke) who overcomes his childhood traumas - mother's abandonment, foster home abuse and racism - when he faces his anger with the help of a Navy psychiatrist (Washington).
"I've done films about real people, so that was a thing I knew something about when I was offered this project," explains Washington. "Also, it's a performance film, so it doesn't rely on high technology. It just felt like the right thing to do. And when I met Antwone, I just loved him, he's such a brave person, a very soft-spoken person. We went through a long process. He and I worked on the script for four, five years, always kept developing, kept developing, kept developing, right until I would say 'cut'."
Yet, as an A-list star, Washington could've taken the easy route and hired experienced actors for the demanding parts. One wonders why he decided to go for the novices.
"They were the best actors," he says. "I read with everybody. I read with actors for four or five years. And Derek came in and just won the part, it's as simple as that. He didn't have the experience, the film experience, but he was fine as an actor. And in that room, he was great. And I brought him back in, read him again, he was great. Brought him in with some guys, he was great. Put him with Joy (Bryant, who plays Fisher's girlfriend), he was great. He was just the best one. And their chemistry was unbelievable."
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