Once in the Life

Fishburne excels in his triple-threat roles as actor, director and adapter of his own play, and his cast glows under his direction. more

Showcases a trio of terrific performances. more

May lack any transcendent point that would make it exceptional, but it is certainly a worthy start, and worth catching. more

Has a credibly gritty texture, thanks in large part to Fishburne's generosity with his fellow actors. more

Strong, hard, dirty, funny, moving atmospheric and laced with scabrously musical street dialogue. more

Basically it's an acting exercise - a one-set rendition of that old stage and movie standby, the ex-convict struggling to go straight who's tempted to attempt one last score. more

The movie remains an actor's exercise--too much dialogue, too much time in the room, too much happening offstage, or in the past, or in memory, or in imagination. more

As urban gangster drama, Once in the Life is way below mundane, and Fishburne's direction exceeds the rookie jitters. more

If Laurence Fishburne could only have harnessed his fierce performance to drive his directoral debut, Once in the Life might have made something memorable of the done-to-death tale of small-time crooks on the run after a heist gone wrong. more

While the line-readings are often dead-on, Fishburne's movie suffers from the usual one-room claustrophobia and Mametian repetitions. more

Finally an opportunity for Titus Welliver to let his exceptional skills as an actor sparkle. His portrait of Torch, 20/20 Mike's dangerous, scared and increasingly suffering brother, is so intense and captivating, it makes you forget that you are watching a movie. I don't know why he has not been considered for an Academy Award; he certainly would have deserved it. This is not an easy movie to watch, but the cast, the story and Laurence Fishburne's talent as a story-teller makes it a breathtaking experience for those who enjoy theatrical cinema. more

Amazon Verified Purchase ( What's this? ) I would suggest anyone take a look. You'll love the variety. The settings are real, there's lots of messages thrown at you with the camera, as well as a timelines through objects, clothes, cars. The point of views are essential and speaks to you or shall I say conveys a message. The dialogue asks you to entertain ideas, point of views, right & wrong and that middle ground, and even more. It's exciting. It's a story and it's real. The only other thing I will add is that if a person is not used to being around diverse groups of people, they might... more

During a brief jail stay, two half-brothers, who have rarely seen each other while growing up, connect. One of them, called 20/20 Mike because he can sense people nearby, concocts a scheme in which the two of them will steal some dope from young couriers. The heist goes awry when Billy, the junkie brother, shoots the victims of the theft. The brothers hole up in an abandoned building, and 20/20 Mike seeks help from an old cell mate, Tony, whom he thinks is out of the life. It turns out that they have stolen Tony's dope, and Tony's boss wants the two thieves dead. Perfect dialogue without... more