Menace II Society (1993) New Line/Drama RT: 104 minutes Rated R (pervasive language, strong bloody violence, drug use) Director: The Hughes Brothers Screenplay: Tyger Williams Music: QD III Cinematography: Lisa Rinzler Release date: May 26, 1993 (US) Cast: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, Jada Pinkett, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Duke, Charles S. Dutton, Glenn Plummer, Khandi Alexander, MC Eiht, Vonte Sweet, Ryan Williams, Pooh-Man, Clifton Powell, Arnold Johnson, Marilyn Coleman, Julian Roy Doster, Too Short, Saafir, Erin Leshawn Wiley. Box Office: $27.9M (US)
Rating: ****
Menace II Society is, in my not-so-humble opinion, the best of the “growing up in the hood” films of the early 90s. Raw, gritty and uncompromising, it’s a stunning first effort from twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. Its realistic depiction of the violence that’s come to define urban life still packs a punch more than 30 years later.
It opens with a scene that’s become iconic. Two young hoodlums, Caine (Turner, Belly) and O-Dog (Tate, Dead Presidents), enter a corner store to buy malt liquor. The Korean owner and his wife treat them with suspicion. O-Dog and the owner exchange words. The owner says, “I feel sorry for your mother” as O-Dog starts to leave. O-Dog pulls a gun, shoots the owner dead, then forces the wife to hand over the surveillance tape before killing her too. Caine comments (via voiceover) that he went into the store to get a beer and came out an accessory to murder. He adds that it’s funny the way things go down in the hood sometimes. Menace II Society had my attention from that scene on.
The main focus of the movie is Caine, a teen living in Watts with his devoutly religious grandparents. It’s made clear early on that he’s a thug, but not entirely by his own doing. The deck was stacked against him from the very start. As a small child, he witnessed his drug-dealing father (Jackson, Pulp Fiction) murder somebody. His mother (Alexander, CSI: Miami) was a heroin addict. By the time he was 10, both parents were dead. All his life, Caine has been surrounded by crime and violence.
The action takes place the summer after Caine graduates from high school, a time when most teens look forward to a future that includes college. That’s not exactly an option for Caine. Instead, he’s a small-time drug dealer who gets caught up in murder and other crimes. He still has the capacity to care for others as evidenced by his relationship with Ronnie (Pinkett, Jason’s Lyric) and her 5YO son. She’s the girlfriend of his mentor (Plummer, Colors) who’s now serving a life sentence. It’s she who gives Caine an opportunity to start over by inviting him to move to Atlanta with her.
One thing that Menace II Society does differently from, let’s say Boyz n the Hood, is that it doesn’t portray its main character as a hero or victim. Caine is a criminal, plain and simple. He’s a killer too. He willingly took part in shooting the gangbangers that killed his cousin during a carjacking. Yet he’s not a bad guy per se. He just can’t see beyond the limited scope of his harsh, violent environment. It’s an environment that created O-Dog, described by Caine as “young, black and [doesn’t] give a f***. Here’s a guy who finds pleasure in viewing the incriminating videotape with his friends on multiple occasions like it’s an action flick. His lack of remorse is both evident and frightening. Caine is clearly the more sympathetic of the two, but only to a point. You feel bad that the guy got dealt a crummy hand by life and that he’s trapped in a world without rules or fairness. But ultimately, he made his own choices and must live with the consequences.
Both Turner and Tate turn in tremendous performances. The whole cast does a phenomenal job really. Dutton (Alien 3) is very good as a sympathetic teacher who urges Caine to take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the hood once and for all.
Menace II Society is extremely powerful in its sense of realism. The directors never attempt to soften their blows in their depiction of life in the hood. It’s shot in a frank, in-your-face, down-in-the-dirt style. It’s extremely violent and profane (over 300 uses of the f-word!). One scene shows the step-by-step process of making crack. People are shot and brutally beaten. It’s a bleak but powerful movie that serves as a wake-up call for youths at risk. The Hughes Brothers deliver the message loud and clear.
