Fresh (1994)

IMDb plot summary: Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.

Directed by Boaz Yakin. Starring Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, and N'Bushe Wright.

One of the things I find fascinating about this is how pragmatic a protagonist we have in Michael (or "Fresh" as he's known on the street). He's a smart, ambitious kid making a path for himself the best way he knows how. This is a potential career for him -- his primary dealer boss even gives him advice on what drugs are best to sell if you want to grow old and retire with your money. I found myself most struck by his interactions with his best friend, who thinks he'd be a great runner and likes to talk tough but doesn't have the maturity Michael does to succeed, and even though Michael clearly wants his friend to do well along with him, he knows he's going to get them both into trouble someday. It's a heartbreaking story that the writer drew on his own experiences for, and the actors playing these young kids are all capable enough to carry a challenging movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Fresh > The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

Fresh < Jack Goes Boating

Fresh > Charlie St. Cloud

Fresh > A Serious Man

Fresh < The Shallows

Fresh > Last Year at Marienbad

Fresh < Hell in the Pacific

Fresh > Nick of Time

Fresh > It (2017)

Fresh < 1917

Fresh > Logan's Run

Final spot: #1007 out of 3474, or 71%.