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Plot

Lawyer John Williams (Courtney B. Vance) looks back in flashback to 1957 when he began as a lawyer while living in the Bronx with his older brother, Charles (Charles S. Dutton). Married to Carol (Lonette McKee), Charles is the NYPD's first African-American sergeant, and he plans a police exam for his oldest son, Charlie (Garland Whitt), who would rather study art. After a call that Charlie is under arrest for the murder of a white boy, John suspects he was beaten and forced to confess by the cops, but Charlie claims he did indeed kill an Irish-American youth. John takes on the case, feeling that Charlie is hiding something -- while the courts, police, and the public are all ready to see Charlie electrocuted. Director Ernest Dickerson (Juice) filmed in Toronto. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Foreign
Run Time:
122min.
Theatrical Release Date:
05/29/1997
Distributor(s):
Paramount
Director(s):
Ernest R. Dickerson
Starring:
Charles S. Dutton , Courtney B. Vance , Kadeem Hardison , Lonette McKee , Garland Whitt
Themes:
Kids in Trouble,Fighting the System
Tone:
Deliberate,Poignant,Reflective
Keywords:
arrest,artist,brother,confession [criminal],cross-cultural-relations,family-strife,investigation,lawyer,murder,nephew,police,torture
Language:
English