IMDb RATING
7.2/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.
- Awards
- 1 win & 6 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe cap that Socrates wears throughout the movie reads "90291", the zip code corresponding to the Los Angeles suburb of Venice (roughly 15 miles west of where this movie takes place). The M'Shalla family moves to Venice at the end of the movie after Howard gets a job there.
- Quotes
Socrates Fortlow: You and your friends did wrong, Darryl. Now, I'm just talking to you, one black man to another, all right, 'cause, see, if you don't know when you've done wrong, life ain't worth a damn.
- ConnectionsSpin-off The Right Mistake
- SoundtracksChain of Fools
Written by Don Covay (as Dan Covay)
Published by Fourteenth Hour Music Inc., Promptu
Performed by Aretha Franklin
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Featured review
Gilding the lily
Laurence Fishburne is superb as Socrates Fortlow in the HBO movie of Walter Mosley's adaptation of his first book of Fortlow stories. Mosley wove his stories together fairly well in the screenplay. The quest for a job, the serious undertaking of mentoring Darryl, dealing with the dealer/mugger and with the car-jacker are cinematic. Daniel Williams' portrayal of Darryl as a vulnerable discarded child who has to act tough is very, very good. The friendship with Right Burke (Bill Cobbs) is plausible, but having "Right" narrate the film seems unnecessary to me. We can see in Fishburne's performance the kind of many Socrates is without Right telling us how heroic he is.
The relationships with women are less convincing, or at least less compelling. I don't remember what Luvia (Cicely Tyson) has against Socrates. His relationship with Iula Brown (Natalie Cole) lacks chemistry (and screen time).
The relationships with women are less convincing, or at least less compelling. I don't remember what Luvia (Cicely Tyson) has against Socrates. His relationship with Iula Brown (Natalie Cole) lacks chemistry (and screen time).
helpful•40
- som1950
- Jun 30, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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