Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

nice_guy567 this is one of those films where you got to watch it from start to finish i loved this movie for what it was a roller-coaster ride for a man who has lost everything but gained respect for what he is and what he believes in and how the kid showed him it was OK to love again but all in all if you like action all the way through a movie this one is not for you but if you like a movie with a story and you feel the pain of the actors this is a must watch for you great plot great story line everything in this movie in my case is great i give it a 9 out of 10 just because its one of those movies where u can watch it once but you can watch it again and again and still get drawn in by the actors

OldDrummer55 I do not recall the first time I saw this film, but I was so positively impressed with the story and acting that my daughter bought the DVD and book for me. And this was when the DVD still cost a small fortune! Mr. Socrates Fortlo is a very complex individual who is just trying to do the right thing. His friends and neighbors recognize his natural leadership abilities and they routinely come to him with their problems. The narration is a nice touch too. He has a code of honor that he maintains, and he just wants to do the right thing... and he attempts to pass his code of honor on to the next generation. This film should be a "must watch" for everyone.

billhol Via this finely crafted and deeply thoughtful 1998 film, Michael Apted directed our consciousness towards more than one of our society's trash heaps. With it now being 2004, I do not see any change. Laurence Fishburne's character, Socrates, still deftly provides us with poignant details about *our* needs. And so Apted's metaphorical deaths (and the wasted physical death, which is finely portrayed by Bill Cobb's character, Right Burke) must *again* make us face our society's problems. Some may callously claim that everyone (in some way) must kill themselves for a society (and thus "many must suffer"), but this film (and our current society) is their glass house. All three men (and no less importantly, the rest of the cast) should be very proud of this current, relevant work.

snake77 This can be a tough video to find, but when I finally did it turned out to be well worth the effort. This is a great film, it rates right up with "Citizen X" as one of the best made for HBO movies. Laurence Fishburne is terrific as Socrates Fortlow, an ex-con living in inner L.A. and attempting to carve a new life for himself while just barely getting by. Fishburne gives the character real grit, anger, and pride, but most of all he shows us a man who is committed to living life honorably after making some very serious mistakes. You can feel the frustration of a man who is trying to live right in a world that is seldom fair, but he won't give in to the temptation to make an easy buck or to compromise his principles. The film is presented as a series of intertwining stories about the people in Fortlow's life, and the other actors in the film are superb - there is never a moment that doesn't feel real. The stories all have meaning - love, prejudice, empathy, sorrow, friendship, honor and death. It's not often that a film says this much without seeming to, and it's not often you see a film this moving. If your video store doesn't have it, be like Socrates and just keep coming back and protesting loudly until they do.