Fresh Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Fresh Blu-ray Movie Review

The Pawn Who Would Be King

Reviewed by Michael Reuben March 27, 2013

Writer-director Boaz Yakin's debut feature, Fresh, has lost none of its impact in the nineteen years since it first burst onto the scene. Yakin's tale of a twelve-year-old chess player caught in the crossfire of urban drug dealers arrived at a timely moment. Three years earlier, John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood had given audiences their first authentic experience of the urban war zone that was consuming an entire generation of African-American youth, and that same year, Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City provided an exposé of the crack trade that had revolutionized drug trafficking in the Eighties at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable. Yakin's film took these themes to their logical conclusion by placing an unprotected child at their crux, with nothing more than his wits to keep him alive and out of jail.

But Yakin didn't stop there. He had his pint-size protagonist declare war on the dealers, thugs and enforcers, not with fists and guns, but with cunning and strategy. What began as a tale of the 'hood morphed into a thriller of unlikely opponents and, eventually, an elegy for innocence lost. Some viewers objected that a kid like Fresh couldn't exist, but that was precisely the point. Yakin's protagonist was a statistical anomaly, one in a million (or even ten million). Most youngsters in his situation wouldn't stand a chance, but Fresh becomes an unlikely hero precisely because he does manage to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. The real tragedy is that so many others cannot do likewise—and, indeed, several innocents fall by the wayside before the film is over. Fresh himself does not emerge unscathed.

"Fresh" is the street name for twelve-year-old Michael (Sean Nelson, whose intense focus is crucial to the film's impact). He lives in a crowded Brooklyn apartment with numerous cousins and his Aunt Frances (Cheryl Freeman), a decent and generous woman who is doing her best to keep the children out of government facilities. Fresh's older sister, Nichole (N'Bushe Wright), used to live with them, and Aunt Frances would gladly have her back, but Nichole has begun the steady downward slide into heroin addiction, pinging back and forth between two dealers who give her drugs in exchange for sex: James (Jerome Butler) and Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito, who portrayed the formidable Gus Fring on Breaking Bad).

Fresh himself works as a mule for Esteban, who finds it convenient to entrust major deliveries to a tiny courier who can walk past police and rival dealers unsuspected. Because Esteban cannot use him full time, Fresh also works as a "runner" on the corner of a hot-tempered crack dealer named Jake (Jean-Claude La Marre), who, in turn, works for the neighborhood kingpin, Corky (Ron Brice). It's Fresh's job to negotiate the deals and weed out the deadbeats, which requires all kinds of adult discussions with a wide array of clientele. Fresh saves the money he earns in a jar buried near some abandoned railroad tracks, but it's not clear what plans he has for the future (or whether he has any at all).

Certainly Fresh doesn't want to end up like his father, Sam (Samuel L. Jackson, in fine form), who drinks perpetually and lives in an abandoned camper under a bridge. Although the details are unclear, Sam has apparently lost his parental rights, but Fresh sees him secretly in one of the city parks where amateur players meet for "speed chess". Sam considers himself an undisputed master of the game, and it's the only thing he shares with his son, probably because it's all he has of value. His key lessons are detachment and objectivity—and the willingness to sacrifice any piece in pursuit of winning the game.

Soon enough, Fresh has reason to put these lessons into practice. An altercation involving acquaintances from the drug trade leaves innocent victims dead on the ground at Fresh's school, and one of them is someone close to Fresh. Between the sense of loss and the glimpse of his own future (not to mention the helpless realization that his sister is rapidly slipping away beyond hope of recovery), Fresh feels compelled to act. As his father has taught him to do, he studies every piece on the board in front of him, considers each of their natures, then formulates a plan. To the great credit of both the director and his young star, this momentous turn in the film occurs quietly and without fanfare. Indeed, one reason why Fresh can be so effective is that his outward demeanor barely changes. No one suspects a thing.

Coolness and self-possession are rare qualities not only in this age group, but also in this neighborhood, and Fresh's self-discipline is emphasized by its contrast with the behavior of his friends, especially Chuckie (Luis Lantigua), whom Fresh asks for help and who almost immediately gets into trouble because he's too busy bragging and posturing to focus on the job at hand. In the end, though, Fresh proves to be every bit the master strategist his father hoped to create, even finding ways to incorporate the police, in the person of Lt. Perez (José Zúñiga), into his master plan.

There is one lesson, however, that Sam does not fully convey to his son, though it begins to dawn on Fresh by the end. Chess, as played by Sam and Fresh, is ultimately a losing proposition, because after you've sacrificed the necessary pieces and achieved your objective of winning the other side's king, there's nothing left to do but start a new game—and that is not the life that Fresh has imagined for himself. Yakin shot the film so that a huge question mark hovers over the end of it. Terrible acts of violence occur, especially in the latter half, and Yakin routinely pans away from them to Fresh's face looking on impassively, maintaining the chess player's detachment as various pieces are removed from the board. By the end of the film, though, the boy's face shows something different, and it leaves us wondering what the future will bring.

Fresh Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The source material for Echo Bridge's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Fresh is in decent but not perfect condition. A scattering of speckles and dirt appears at regular intervals, but not enough so that it would have even drawn my attention if I weren't evaluating the disc for a review. Otherwise, this is one of the better presentations I have seen from Echo Bridge, with respectable detail, decent blacks, appropriately saturated colors, a film-like grain pattern and no indication of artificial sharpening or other untoward digital manipulation. The cinematographer for Fresh was that venerable chronicler of New York City street life, Adam Holender (Midnight Cowboy), who once again displays here his ability to capture the feel of a neighborhood in the way he frames and lights. Fresh could probably look better, but given the state of movie theater projection in 1994 and the limited release, this is probably the best it has ever looked.

Fresh Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fresh's original stereo track has been encoded as DTS-HD MA 2.0, and it sounds quite good. With the aid of a good surround decoding system such as DPL IIx, the occasional rear channel effect can be heard (e.g., an elevated train passing to the left in an early scene when Fresh goes to an apartment to make a pickup). In general, though, the surrounds provide ambiance, while the dialogue remains in the center and the mains provide support and depth. Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland did the minimalist score, which is effective precisely because its orchestral style goes so completely against expectations of how an urban street drama should sound.

Fresh Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Once again, Echo Bridge has omitted significant features formerly available on a previous Miramax DVD edition. The 2004 "Collectors Series" DVD of Fresh included a commentary by director Yakin, selected cast auditions and storyboard comparisons, all of which have been dropped from the Blu-ray. Only the following features have been retained:

• Behind the Scenes (480i; 1.33:1; 2:07): This EPK-like short is too brief to offer substantial insight into the creative process, but it's interesting as far as it goes.



• Gag Reel (480i; 1.33:1; 4:56): Less of a traditional gag reel than a kind of crew "scrapbook" of moments on the set and on location. I suspect one has to have been there to understand most of what was compiled here.

Fresh Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Since Fresh, Yakin has had both success (Remember the Titans) and failure (the recent Safe), but he has never again connected so solidly with a story and a cast as he did with his debut feature. He has professed a love of genre films and horror movies, which prompted him to form a company called Raw Nerve with Eli Roth and Scott Spiegel; to write the script for the poorly received first sequel to From Dusk to Dawn ("Texas Blood Money"); to produce 2001 Maniacs; and to executive produce the Hostel films. But Yakin's strength clearly lies in drama, and having now revisited Fresh, I hope that Yakin soon returns to the field. Highly recommended, despite Echo Bridge's lack of meaningful extras.