'Not every filmmaker has it in them to make something as good as 'Boyz N the Hood,' whether it marks the beginning or the culmination of a career.' Critic JustinCChang reflects on John Singleton's legacy:
about the riots that he produced. It was also, of course, the setting of his landmark 1991 first feature, “Boyz N the Hood.”That picture is still widely considered his finest, and if the consensus is accurate — and I think it is — it’s far from a knock. Not every filmmaker has it in them to make something as good as “Boyz N the Hood,” whether it marks the beginning or the culmination of a career.
The story spans seven years in the life of Tre Styles , whose mother, fearing for his childhood and his future, sends him to live with his stern, loving father. It’s a decision that makes a crucial difference for Tre as he and his closest friends grow up, hang out, get in trouble, fall in love and find themselves vulnerable to both the lure and the impact of gang violence.
It wasn’t the last time Singleton, a child of the hip-hop generation, would cast popular musicians in prominent, memorable roles. His second feature, “Poetic Justice” , starred Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur as two Angelenos brought together against a backdrop of personal tragedy.
Not that Singleton’s own work avoided the trappings of genre. On the contrary, as a filmmaker who grew up under the spell of Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa and Francis Ford Coppola, he was a shrewd and vigorous purveyor of classic narrative models. “Boyz N the Hood” suggested a canny L.A. remix of old gangster melodramas and vintage westerns, with a direct, poignant nod to the youthful hijinks of “Stand by Me.
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