Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Vondie Curtis-Hall

Writer:

J.T. Allen

Stars:

Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, Lee Thompson Young

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

redemption | prison | death | gang | violence | 

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Taglines:

Gangster, Death Row Inmate, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jaime Foxx met the real Stanley "Tookie" Williams before the movie was released in TV.

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Connections

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005)

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Soundtracks

Come Back Baby
Performed by Heather
Written by George Howard & Fred Capitelli

User Reviews

Red Light - Green Light

If solely judged on Tookie Williams during his prison years, Redemption is a cracker-jack piece of film. It drives from the heart a sincerity that here was a man, that basically unleashed gangland hell on America, who desperately craved redemption from his prison cell. He strives to do good, to help communities by way of education in book and oration form, but is the film heavily biased towards the redemptive angle? Is the monster side of Williams soft soaped? Sadly yes it is.

We don't need to see continual violence thrust in our faces to know Williams was a very bad egg, but although we see staged flashbacks that break the heart and frighten us, director Vondie Curtis-Hall and writer J.T. Allen are fully committed to garnering empathy for the man. Of course on the flip-side of that, if they showed an abundance of violence perpetrated by Williams, then accusations of glorifying would surely have followed. Yet there has to be a balance, a balance that some film makers do find, but it isn't found here.

Is it a story worth telling? Yes it is, of course, and with a superb and controlled performance by Jamie Foxx in the title role driving it forwards, it remains riveting throughout. However, when the dust settles and the end credits roll, what of the victims families blighted by Williams crimes? How must they have felt seeing Williams having a film made about him? A double edged sword movie for sure, artistically above average? Yes. Morally? Questionable. 6/10

Details

Official Sites:

FX Network

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Redemption

Filming Locations:

Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1