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Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story

  • TV Movie
  • 20042004
  • RR
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
19 Photos
  • Drama
  • Crime

The story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, the former leader of the "Crips" gang. Stan wrote award-winning children's books, brokered peace treaties between warring gangs, and won a Nobel Peace Pr... Read allThe story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, the former leader of the "Crips" gang. Stan wrote award-winning children's books, brokered peace treaties between warring gangs, and won a Nobel Peace Prize nomination before he was executed.The story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, the former leader of the "Crips" gang. Stan wrote award-winning children's books, brokered peace treaties between warring gangs, and won a Nobel Peace Prize nomination before he was executed.

IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Vondie Curtis-Hall
  • Writer
    • J.T. Allen
  • Stars
    • Jamie Foxx
    • Lynn Whitfield
    • Lee Thompson Young
Top credits
  • Director
    • Vondie Curtis-Hall
  • Writer
    • J.T. Allen
  • Stars
    • Jamie Foxx
    • Lynn Whitfield
    • Lee Thompson Young
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 37User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 12 wins & 8 nominations

    Videos1

    Redemption (2004)
    Trailer 0:31
    Redemption (2004)

    Photos19

    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx and Lynn Whitfield in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx and Karl Campbell in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Jamie Foxx in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
    Lynn Whitfield in Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jamie Foxx
    Jamie Foxx
    • Stan 'Tookie' Williamsas Stan 'Tookie' Williams
    Lynn Whitfield
    Lynn Whitfield
    • Barbara Becnelas Barbara Becnel
    Lee Thompson Young
    Lee Thompson Young
    • Charles Becnelas Charles Becnel
    Brenden Jefferson
    Brenden Jefferson
    • Young Stan Williamsas Young Stan Williams
    Brenda Bazinet
    Brenda Bazinet
    • Barbara's Agentas Barbara's Agent
    Wes Williams
    Wes Williams
    • Tony Bogardas Tony Bogard
    • (as Wes 'Maestro' Williams)
    Greg Ellwand
    • Prison Chiefas Prison Chief
    CCH Pounder
    CCH Pounder
    • Winnie Mandelaas Winnie Mandela
    Barbara Barnes-Hopkins
    • Mrs. Williamsas Mrs. Williams
    Tom Barnett
    Tom Barnett
    • Jim Katesas Jim Kates
    Karl Campbell
    Karl Campbell
    • Deuce-Fiveas Deuce-Five
    Joseph Pierre
    • 17yr. Old Ray Washingtonas 17yr. Old Ray Washington
    Vibert Cobham
    • Buddhaas Buddha
    David Fraser
    David Fraser
    • Strange Manas Strange Man
    Kahmaara Armatrading
    • Stan Williams (9-12)as Stan Williams (9-12)
    Garfield Williams
    • Envoyas Envoy
    Aaron Meeks
    • Banger #1as Banger #1
    Donovan Palma
    • Banger #2as Banger #2
    • Director
      • Vondie Curtis-Hall
    • Writer
      • J.T. Allen
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang. Story follows his fall into gang-banging, his prison term, and his work writing children's novels encouraging peace and anti-violence resolutions which earned him multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations. After exhausting all forms of appeal, Tookie was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, California; he was declared dead on December 13, 2005 at 12:35 a.m. PST (08:35 UTC). Williams is the 12th person to be executed by California since it reinstated the death penalty in 1977. —Anonymous
    • redemption
    • prison
    • death
    • gang
    • violence
    • 18 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Gangster, Death Row Inmate, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Crime
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jaime Foxx met the real Stanley "Tookie" Williams before the movie was released in TV.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2005 (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Come to Me
      Performed by Heather

      Written by George Howard & Fred Capitelli

    User reviews37

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A poor opening should not detract from what is, in fairness, a fairly good film
    STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

    A true story depicting the story of Crips founder Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, played by Jamie Foxx. Imprisoned on multiple counts of murder in the early 80s, the film takes off on the verge of Tookie's execution date, when he is visited by a journalist (Lynn Whitfield) eager to learn about the gang culture. Impressed by the intelligent and seemingly remorseful man she now sees in front of her, she is astonished when he asks for her help-in writing children's books warning of the dangers of gang life! This is the beginning of his path to true redemption and his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

    I got a little caught up last year in the big Tookie debate as the day of his execution dawned (or maybe just a little after it.) Ancient history now, but I thought it would still be interesting to check this film out and learn a little bit more about the story behind Tookie.

    As the actor playing him, Foxx was one of the celebrity vocal exponents for granting clemency to Tookie in the closing days before his execution. I'm willing to bet he met the man and spoke with him to research his part a bit, and that his portrayal of the imprisoned man is fairly accurate. Tookie's crimes sound truly despicable and in the eyes of many his death by lethal injection may even have sounded too merciful, but I think what the film is trying to portray is an example of how the American prison system has worked in it's ability to 'rehabilitate' a criminal and make him into a more intelligent, if not entirely decent, human being. With Foxx in the lead role, I can't help but feel his personal politics on the matter may have had some say in how the script panned out, and at times it does feel a little one-sided, going to great lengths to show the new improved Tookie without going into too much detail of the atrocious crimes he committed, but then a few other films could be accused of that recently.

    Quality wise, the film suffers from a bit of a disjointed opening, with too much use of flashy camera effects. Early on, this actually put me in such low expectations for the rest of the film that I actually found myself nodding off for a bit. But Foxx does deliver a compelling performance in the lead role and things do get more interesting as the film goes on. Plus it should be commended for wrapping the very heavy subject matter it's depicting up in just under an hour and a half. ***
    helpful•9
    1
    • wellthatswhatithinkanyway
    • Mar 20, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 3, 2004 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • FX Network
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Noir comme l'espoir
    • Filming locations
      • Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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