20/20 Mike: Laurence Fishburne	Torch: Nick Chinlund
Freddie Nine Lives: Dominic Chianese Jr.	Buddah: Michael Paul Chan
Ruffhouse: Gregory Hines	Maxine: Annabella Sciorra
Billy: Titus Welliver	Tony: Eamonn Walker
Director: Laurence Fishburne	Manny: Paul Calderon

30 Second Bottom Line: Once in the Life refers to the assumption (or fact) that once you become a lowlife criminal, you will remain so, even if you get out for awhile. Usually, small-time criminals are the supporting cast in films. Here the film is about them. It's for them to see themselves as they really are.

Story Line: Based upon the play Riff Raff, written by Laurence Fishburne, he has made the play into his movie directorial debut. 20/20 Mike (Fishburne) is reunited with his estranged brother Billy (Titus Welliver), during an overnight stay in jail. Mike decides to skim some dope from the local drug lord, Manny (Paul Calderon), with the help of Billy, who he suspects may be a crack addict.

Tony (Eamonn Walker) is an old friend, who is Mike's best buddy from years ago, when they both ran the streets and spent time in jail together. Tony's wife, Maxine (Annabella Sciorra), wants him to spend the evening at home to celebrate their daughter's birthday, but she knows that he's gotta do what he's gotta do. Mike is the godfather of their child.

Tony is trying to graduate to the next level in the dope business. Manny has given him the assignment to recover his stolen dope and to kill Mike. As insurance, Manny sends along one of his enforcers, Ruffhouse (Gregory Hines), to ensure that if Tony does not take care of business, he does.

Tell Me More About It: I like the movie better than some folks because I know that it is based on a play and it has the intention of showing the lives of those society calls riff raff. Usually when we go to see live theater we are somewhat more informed about the subject matter than when we go to a movie. Heck, one costs $30 and up, and the other between $6-$9. For one you have to be at a specific place, at a certain time and for the other, you can choose from any number of venues and pick any two-hour span to arrive. Once in the Life is a hybrid of movie and theater. Instead of more physical action in the last half of the film, there is less. This portion is essentially set in a room, as it would be on stage, with a limited number of characters.

The dialogue is genuine and it's interesting. I think the box office will be less than it should because of the way the film is marketed. In Chicago, it's being shown in eight theaters, which cater to a predominately African American audience. If the draw to the play met those demographics, then I'm wrong about the target audience.

To me this is a film about class and values, much more so than about race. As such it would appear to be a better fit for the art house crowd. As the newspaper ads say, the film is a family story about addiction, betrayal, greed, and murder.

Hey, it's not my favorite film of the year, but one should not have to drive as many as 100 miles round trip to go to a movie. Once in the Life is distributed by Shooting Gallery, which is an organization that supports art house films. Hopefully if it gets a nice lift at the box office, it will get more widespread distribution. Hopefully, people will also use web sites like reelmoviecritic so that when a film plays at a theater near them, they can easily find a review. I don't know about you, but my Friday paper with the current reviews has a short life span. Somehow when I want to find it, it refuses to be located.

Laurence Fishburne: The Matrix; Debut Director	Nick Chinlund: The Kid
Dominic Chianese Jr.: The Thomas Crown Affair	Michael Paul Chan: The Insider
Gregory Hines: Tic Code	Annabella Sciorra:
Titus Welliver: Mulholland Falls	Eamonn Walker: Homicide: The Movie-TV
Paul Calderon: Girlfight