Once in the Life

Story Line: 20/20 Mike (Fishburne), a small-time hood and ex-con, is reunited with his white half-brother Billy (Welliver), and together they rip off a local drug lord. Holed up in an abandoned hideout, the brothers are visited by Mike's friend, Tony (Walker), who works for the pusher and has been assigned to track them down.

Bottom Line: Veteran actor Fishburne chose to adapt his play, Riff Raff, for his first project as writer and director, and the piece's theatrical origin is readily apparent. Much of it unfolds in a one-room hideout, where the three principals practically talk themselves to death. Fishburne is obviously emulating David Mamet in these dialogue scenes, trying to achieve similar cadence and rhythm even to the endless repetition of certain phrases. Unfortunately, he's no Mamet, which becomes apparent in fairly short order. There's too much talk, too much happening in one room and too much happening offstage or in the past. Fishburne employs such talented performers as Gregory Hines and Annabella Sciorra in cameo roles, and while he shows promise as a director, one wishes that for his tyro outing he had attempted something less claustrophobic and more ambitious. The acting is good, and the piece isn't without interest, but it might be a tough sell. Try using Fishburne's post-Matrix popularity as a hook. --Ed Hulse