Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Vondie Curtis-Hall

Writer (WGA):

J.T. Allen (written by)

Release Date:

3 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

Gangster, Death Row Inmate, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

Plot:

Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang. Story follows his fall into gang-banging...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Gang | Redemption | Prison Gang | Gang Culture

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 11 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Jamie Foxx	...	Stan 'Tookie' Williams
Lynn Whitfield	...	Barbara Becnel
Lee Thompson Young	...	Charles Becnel
Brenden Jefferson	...	Young Stan Williams (as Brenden Richard Jefferson)
Brenda Bazinet	...	Barbara's Agent
Wes Williams	...	Tony Bogard (as Wes 'Maestro' Williams)
Greg Ellwand	...	Prison Chief
CCH Pounder	...	Winnie Mandela
Barbara Barnes-Hopkins	...	Mrs. Williams
Tom Barnett	...	Jim Kates
Karl Campbell	...	Deuce-Five
Joseph Pierre	...	17yr. Old Ray Washington
Vibert Cobham	...	Buddha
David Fraser	...	Strange Man
Kahmaara Armatrading	...	Stan Williams (9-12)

Runtime:

95 min | USA:120 min | Argentina:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:16 | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Australia:MA | Norway:11 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

Movie Connections:

Featured in Peace Process (2006)

Soundtrack:

Come Back Baby

Potentially powerful movie fails to find a steady pace

The topic of Stan Williams often incites heated and emotional debate. A movie about his life was therefore a perfect opportunity to inform both sides of the armchair debaters, showing why Tookie was put in prison and sketching the events leading to his self-claimed redemption. Tookie was a wretched man - he said so himself. The movie should have shown how wretched he was. It should have shown the violence he was exposed to when he was young, the murders he was convicted for, his violent behaviour in prison for many years before he had a change of heart. He also always claimed he was innocent of the crimes he was sentenced for, so there was an opportunity to film the murders with some doubt as to the perpetrator. It could really have built around the doubt, and played on the emotional conflict of carrying out the sentence or having mercy on a changed man. But the movie doesn't focus on the character change of Tookie. It never focuses on his violent nature, and the viewer is not taken on the journey of the evolving character. Instead, the film starts off with the nice Tookie Williams who has kind eyes and a nature that evokes sympathy. His former crimes are only eluded to, and he is depicted as an honest man seeking release from prison as a place he can't get used to and just doesn't belong. Jamie Foxx is a brilliant actor, but unfortunately does not portray the latent demon that was Tookie. Jamie is too nice-looking, and not nearly huge enough. If you are not familiar with the Tookie Williams story, this movie will seem to jump around a lot and will not make as much sense as it is supposed to. Those unfamiliar with the story will side immediately with Tookie and want him to be released from prison. As such, it is not an accurate portrayal, and it is not clear what the film was trying to create. The movie never really finds its rhythm and it is an unfortunate lost opportunity. The viewer should have a good idea of how bad Tookie was, and then be able to judge for himself the genuineness of the change, and only then start to question what Tookie's fate should have been. These questions did not need to be answered in the movie, but they should at least have been posed. Instead, the end result is a random and inelegant sympathetic sketch of Tookie's last days that ends on an imperfect cadence.