Fresh 1994

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: The script by writer-director Boaz Yakin is fresh itself, marrying the physical violence of Fresh's world with the intellectual violence of competitive chess. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Glibly shocking, it would like you to think it deals with the hard realities of urban life, but in fact it uses its patina of social consciousness as a come-on for the most conventional kind of violent commercial filmmaking. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Sean Nelson, who turned 13 just before the film was shot, gives a fine, self-assured performance in the title role. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Fresh appeals to the head as well as the heart. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Sean Nelson is a quiet revelation as the title character, a child who actively participates in what he regards as the only game in town, yet consistently demonstrates more caution and smarts than his friends or relatives. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: [Fresh is] made with a subtle precision that suggests a Vermeer landscape of the ninth circle of hell. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: The subject and visual style could not be more forcefully matched. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: This is kept alive largely through its first-rate performances, beginning with Sean Nelson's as the boy; Giancarlo Esposito is also a standout. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: You may not believe a minute of it, though you won't forget Nelson's face. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: With a script as smart as the title character, Fresh keeps its viewers guessing. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Here's a movie filled with drama and excitement, unfolding a plot of brilliant complexity, in which the central character is solemn and silent, saying only what he has to say, revealing himself only strategically. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The acting by Esposito and Jackson is exceptional, but it is on the remarkable face of Nelson that Yakin shows what gets lost when a child beats criminals at their own game. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: A stylish, affecting, ingeniously plotted first feature. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Yakin has put some powerful drama up on the screen, and he has been assisted by no one more significantly than young Nelson, who plays Fresh. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: Yakin may be a novice, but from the movie's first poetic images, this gifted young filmmaker tells his story with a sure, distinctly personal voice. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: [Fresh] is urgently lyrical, right down to its final, haunting image. And in lead performer Sean Nelson, first-time filmmaker Yakin has a 12-year-old breath of fresh air whose beatific face could launch a thousand scripts. Read more