Antwone Fisher (2002) on Netflix
Antwone Fisher, a young sailor with a violent temper, is ordered into psychiatric care after a fight with a crewmate. Dr. Jerome Davenport tries to get him to open up.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.3/1041,027 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes77%
Trailer
Plot summary
A violent temper has followed Antwone Fisher into the U.S. Navy. After a fight with a fellow sailor, a captain's mast demotes him, fines him and restricts him to the ship for forty-five days, and his commanding officer orders him to psychiatric treatment. He is at first extremely resistant to Dr. Jerome Davenport, the psychiatrist he goes in to meet. He also develops feelings for a fellow Navy sailor, Cheryl.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Antwone Fisher (2002)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Antwone Fisher took a free screenwriting class at Bethel A.M.E. Church after a chance encounter with a limo driver, and wrote 41 drafts of the script before Todd Black sold it to 20th Century Fox.
- Denzel Washington was originally brought the script just to play the part of Jerome Davenport, but his agent called Black to say Washington not only wanted to act in the film, he wanted it to be his directorial debut.
- Todd Black was first inspired to make the film after hearing the story from Antwone Fisher himself, who was then working a day job as a security guard at Sony Pictures Studios.
- Derek Luke, who plays the title role, personally knew the real Antwone Fisher before he was cast, and the film marked Luke's Hollywood debut.
- In the Cleveland neighborhood where scenes of Fisher's youth and homecoming were shot, the filmmakers renovated and reinforced structures such as the apartment building where Eva Mae's character lives, and members of the community were hired to work on the production.
- The real Antwone Fisher is credited as the screenwriter, and the film is based on his own autobiographical book Finding Fish.
- Washington required all the principal cast members to know their character's history and story inside out before coming to the set, telling cast and crew, “We’re doing it for Antwone.”
