2002, PG-13, 120 minutes

Adapted from the book The Antwone Fisher Story, Denzel Washington's directorial debut may be based on a true story, but the film lacks authenticity. What should have been a deeply compelling story turns out to be a by-the-numbers exercise that only has one or two scenes that are actually interesting or engaging. The rest of it basically operates on auto-pilot as if the intention was to simply tell the story without caring if anyone enjoys it or not.

What struck me as particularly odd about Antwone Fisher was how a film about real people could suffer from such an obvious deficiency in character. We learn about his past through a number of flashbacks, and we also get to see bits and pieces of his present life, but we never really get to know Antwone as a person. Perhaps this is because for most of the movie he doesn't really know who he is, although there's still a difference between knowing who you are and having a personality. Sure, he got the crap kicked out of him when he was a little kid and never received the love and attention he deserved, which is sad, but why else do we care about him? The answer is we don't, or at least not as much as we could have.

While it is unfair to compare a film to a superior piece of work and expect it to be as good, the connections between Antwone Fisher and Good Will Hunting are unavoidable. In fact, Washington and Fisher try to make their movie too much like the latter film by placing such a strong emphasis on the relationship between psychologist and patient, inviting comparison and ultimately telling a story that isn't half as good. The big difference is that while Matt Damon and Robin Williams told jokes, talked about baseball, the future and the stuff of everyday life - with all of the pain lingering beneath the surface - Antwone and his Navy psychologist have discussions mostly about past events and rarely discuss anything to do with his current life. When a deep friendship develops it's hard to believe. Furthermore, the entire first half is too staged to ever feel truly sincere, which becomes quite absurd when they step aside to a private area in order to forego a big dramatic scene. There's also a lame attempt to insert a moment of reciprocated healing (where they both learn something) but it's so contrived it never had a chance.

Despite its deep-rooted flaws, the final third of Antwone Fisher is almost a completely different film and is genuinely moving, although it would have been more so with a better setup. Parts of it are subtle, particularly a scene with Viola Davis, while earlier in the film these moments would have been obvious or someone would have explained what was happening as if we were too stupid to understand. In other words, the narrative stops being so self-aware and simply tells the story.

Antwone Fisher is by no means a horrible debut for Denzel Washington as a director, but perhaps he should have consulted with an experienced screenwriter to review the script. Beneath the flaws there's a deeply touching story, but it takes too many things for granted (such as character) in a way that makes it painfully obvious it was written by Antwone Fisher himself.