This moving portrait of a film follows life on the unforgiving streets of South Central Los Angeles, particularly of three young black males. The most pertinent outlook is provided by Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s character Tre Styles, who is introduced as a very bright child in the classroom but is also an angry nuisance when interacting with other youths. Returning home from school after another altercation, college educated single mother Reva Styles (Angela Bassett) confronts her son about a contract he signed that stated he would not participate in another scrap for the remainder of school. Because he voided the agreement, he is sent to live with his father Furious Styles played by Laurence Fishburne. And while he seems right at home “hanging out” with fellow neighborhood “homies” Darren “Doughboy” Baker (Ice Cube) and Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut), he is still unsure how life in the heart of the concrete jungle will play out away from his mom.
After Doughboy is sent to “juvy” for petty theft, we are fast forwarded seven years to young adulthood right when Doughboy is released from lockup. And things have changed somewhat since he’s been “in.” Furious’ calm teachings have went along way to mold Tre into a reserved, balanced man while Ricky’s un-planned parenthood has him on the fast track to a football scholarship with nearby USC as he hopes to “rush” his way out of the constantly dangerous, “under the gun” lifestyle that is a persistent reality for those in the Hood. But with Doughboy’s re-entry into the stable, violence is bound to become a much likelier outcome for the group. What follows is powerful “look” on what life is like for the inhabitants of South Central, which dispels a harsh “reality” and an unrelenting resolve that becomes hard to, but must be accepted.
The keystone mastery of Boyz is the story. It is one of sound balance, strong emotion, and gripping development. The movie really feels like it turns your TV into a window upon which you can see these events unfold as they happen. The theatrical release of this film was in 1992, and was quite the “head turner” at the time. Sure, it’s hard for us to think of this as “eye opening” now because the attachment of crime and tragedy to the inter-city is a constant in national and world media. But twenty years ago, it is very possible that a good portion of the viewing audience wasn’t “hip” to the fact that millions of people call this unforgiving existence life. One could compare this movie’s worth in terms of social significance to that of the 1989 Spike Lee “joint” Do The Right Thing, which offered commentary on racism and ethnic acceptance at the turn of the decade. But because Boyz is much more intense and provocative, I think this Singleton piece is more effective in it’s effort of awareness.
Having said that, the acting is also really strong. Even with limited screen time, Fishburne’s contribution is as profound as the “mains” in the movie. He has great engagement and incredible screen presence, which makes his lines resound richly and hold a supreme amount of importance. You could argue that Ice Cube’s performance is one of the best big screen debuts ever in terms of someone with no formal training. His steel reserve and hard edge is articulate enough to allow for a sensible measure of compassion without it feeling “out of place.” For a novice to successfully walk such a narrow tightrope should be commended. Everyone else turns in good work as well, particularly Tyra Ferrell as Ricky and Doughboy’s mother Brenda Baker. The turbulent tide of emotions illustrated by Ferrell does much to supplant you firmly into the tumultuous situations of the film.
While Singleton’s direction is solid, his writing prowess and script construction is the greatest component of the production. All other aspects “behind the lens” work to accentuate the story. Director of Photography Charles Mills executes a conservative style that lays out a canvas for the acting team to work wonders and take command of the mise-en-scene. And the glue that holds these calculated pieces together is the driving music score by Stanley Clarke. In terms of presentation, things are okay. The DTS-HD 5.1 is crisp, although it isn’t as impressive as expected for this great film. Same with the picture quality. It’s not bad, but I have seen much better HD transfers before (see Dances with Wolves – 20th Anniversary to experience just how good the “up-conversion” process can turn out).
The Special Features section on this initial Blu-Ray release is quite good, and offers a few unique choices to boot:
-“The Enduring Significance of Boyz N The Hood” is a chat set in HD with John Singleton, Laurence Fishburne, and Ice Cube, among others, about the importance of the film and how it acted as an eye opening look into the lives of black residences in South Central L.A.
-“Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend” is the main featurette with cast and crew members as they discuss just how true to form the events and interactions of Boyz imitated real life in the early ’90s as well as Singleton dispelling the parallels between his “coming of age” journey with that of the character Tre Styles.
-Audition Videos is a selection that displays four composites at once of actors Ice Cube, Angela Bassett, Morris Chestnut, and Tyra Ferrell as the deliver lines to the casting talents and offers the audio one at a time based on your chosen video.
-Music videos: “Growin’ Up In The Hood” by Compton’s Most Wanted and “Just Ask Me To” by Tevin Campbell.
-Deleted Scenes.
-Commentary with John Singleton.
