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MOVIES / ON DVD / ONCE IN THE LIFE
Once in the Life

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Once in the Life (2000)

28%
36%
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28 %
Reviews Counted: 25 Fresh: 7  Rotten:18 Average Rating: 4.7/10
 
Consensus: Once in a Life is a promising directorial effort by Laurence Fishburne. But the story is too conventional and similar to the many ghetto action/dramas that come before it.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Synopsis: A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, Once in the Life is a realistic depiction of how every day choices affect our path in life. It is a cautionary tale about making the wrong choices and the inevitable, tragic conclusion of an individual who is drawn to a life of crime --... A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, Once in the Life is a realistic depiction of how every day choices affect our path in life. It is a cautionary tale about making the wrong choices and the inevitable, tragic conclusion of an individual who is drawn to a life of crime -- Once in the life, always in the life.

The story focuses on two estranged brothers, 20/20 Mike and Torch, both of whom are involved in the world of crime. Mike is street smart and intuitive while Torch has a quick fuse due in part to a drug habit. They reconnect by chance in a police station and become involved in a heroin deal set up by Freddie Nine Lives, a flunkie for Manny Rivera, the local crime boss. The deal goes bad resulting in the death of Rivera's nephew.

Distrustful of everyone, including each other, the brothers are now forced to turn to an old friend of Mike's, Tony the Tiger, for help. Unfortunately, Mike is unaware that Tony works for Rivera, who has already instructed Tony to kill the brothers and avenge his nephew's death. Tony sets forth as ordered, but finds himself in inner turmoil over his genuine fondness for Mike. Rivera, sensing Tony's conflict, kidnaps Tony's wife and child to insure that he completes the task.

As Mike, Torch and Tony each attempt to deal with their emotions and find a way out of their own predicament, the issues of friendship, family and loyalty are deeply explored. In the end, the inevitability of the life they chose leaves them with no way out and reaches a forgone conclusion of death and tragedy. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Titus Welliver, Eamonn Walker, Annabella Sciorra, Gregory Hines

Director: Laurence Fishburne
Screenwriter: Laurence Fishburne
Producer: David L. Bushell, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland
Composer: Branford Marsalis

DVD Info

Release:

Sep 9, 2003

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Laurence Fishburne - Director

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/17/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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2/4

It reeks of staged theater: three men in one room talking endlessly.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/16/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/16/01
Movieline
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52/100

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/09/01
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide
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N/A

Despite some pacing missteps, this well-acted and colorfully photographed film is a gripping, gritty look at a hard-knock Life.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
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2/5

Without a coherent story to hold our attention, the mood of somber, lower-depths desperation soon becomes monotonous.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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N/A

Not embarrassing, just not all that interesting, either.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave White
IFilm
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N/A

Needlessly convoluted storytelling, talkiness and misplaced narrative emphasis.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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N/A

Enough expertise has been lavished on this small film to make one almost forget that Once in the Life has been done more than once before.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric Monder
Film Journal International
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A hit-and-miss effort.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
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N/A

In opening up his play for a filmed version, Once in the Life, Fishburne may have only succeeded in magnifying the flaws of his original.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gene Seymour
Newsday
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7/10

Never loses its identity as a work meant strictly for the stage.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
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N/A

The film doesn't have a lot to offer that hasn't been done better -- and worse -- in hundreds of ghetto-sink shoot-em.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Henry Cabot Beck
Film.com
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2/5

The good news is that Fishburne also stars, and has recruited a talented group of actors to flesh out the cast; the bad news is that no one seems to have been on hand to help out with the rest of film.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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N/A

While this cautionary tale of brotherhood gone wrong doesn't exactly break new ground, it certainly shows off its writer-director-star's triple-threat filmmaking potency.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz
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4/5

Absorbing and edgy.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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N/A

Serves only to demonstrate that Fishburne, a talented, inventive actor, is, unfortunately, not ready to write and direct motion pictures.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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N/A

Would easily qualify for an Oscar nomination if it were in a movie that was a bit less like canned theater and more cinematic.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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