South Central (1992)

"Stirring. An heroic triumph.  Desson Howe, The Washington Post
"...emotionally stirring... the climax is startlingly powerful.  Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Editor's Note The emotional, hard-hitting tale of a former L.A. gang member who returns to his neighborhood from prison resolved to steer his young son away from street-gang life, SOUTH CENTRAL is a no nonsense drama from director Steve Anderson. Deuce gang member Bobby Johnson has just been released from prison. He returns to his old neighborhood to find a few surprises: First, Bobby learns he has a son, Jimmie. But Carole, Jimmie's mother, is now a drug addict and the lover of fellow gang member Ray Ray. To make matters worse, the local pusher-pimp, Genie Lamp, hires a thug to force Bobby to take heroin. Vengeful, Bobby kills Genie and is sent to prison, this time for 10 years. While serving his sentence, Bobby transforms himself from die-hard delinquent to righteous radical only to discover that his Jimmie -- now also involved with the Deuces -- was shot while robbing a car. Hopefully, Bobby will make it out of prison in time to be a real father to his son.

	Byron Keith Minns
	Carl Lumbly
	Christian Coleman
	Glenn Plummer
	Larita Shelby
	Lexie Bigham
	Vincent Craig Dupree
	Donald Bakeer - Based on Novel By
	Steve Anderson - Director
	Charlie Lieberman - Director of Photography
	Steve Nevius - Editor
	Brad Gilbert - Executive Producer
	Michael Spielberg - Executive Producer
	Oliver Stone - Executive Producer
	Tim Truman - Musical Score
	William B. Streakley - Producer
	Janey Yang - Producer
	Steve Anderson - Screenplay

"We have allowed death to change his name from Southern rope to Northern dope."

Chicago Sun-Times
"...Movies like this one let us feel the emotions..." 09/18/1992 p.42

The Washington Post 0 of 10
Another L.A.-side heartbreaker about young black men caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of hatred, incarceration and bloodshed, South Central purposely pulls you down. Then, with its clarion call to black fatherhood, it lifts you back up again. If it's loaded down with Message, it's armed to the teeth with conviction -- and a powerful performance from Glenn Plummer. The movie's ultimate mission to save a child's life becomes transcendentally vital... At first, the violence, unconscionable references to "bitches" and widespead use of crack and PCP raise serious questions about the filmmakers themselves. You wonder if South is having an R-rated blast in the lip-service guise of putting it all down... But there's method to the madness... A bare-bones outline ignores the performances, the stirring music, the close-in camerawork and the direction of Steve Anderson. The emotional punch and atmosphere of the movie soar through any hokiness. Plummer's search for the son he never saw grow up becomes a powerful odyssey. In a gun-toting finale, in which blood ties are pitted against man's atavistic need for revenge, and willpower takes on firepower, the winner is Plummer. He transforms a potentially thankless (and catcalling) role into heroic triumph. - Desson Howe