Caught Up . Tucson Weekly . 03-09-98

Caught Up

DIRECTED BY: Darin Scott

REVIEWED: 03-09-98

A wonderful surprise. I expected just another black gangster flick, but Caught Up turned out to be an exceedingly well-spun yarn that had far more in common with film noir and twisty mysteries than Menace II Society. Bokeem Woodbine stars as a tough, youngish ex-con who's determined to go straight and build himself a respectable life. That proves near impossible as the film keeps throwing strange, shady characters in his path, including criminals, mean cops and a sultry psychic played by the sexy Cynda Williams. The nothing-is-what-it-seems plot convolutes continuously from there, but it's well-sustained by a palpably surreal nighttime L.A. atmosphere, Bokeem's compelling intelligence and director Darin Scott's terse screenplay. Scott, who also wrote Tales From the Hood and Sprung, displays great skill at lacing standard genres (including the African-American morality tale) into a fresh-feeling whole; and though at times Caught Up heads way over the top, the storytelling remains solid.

--Woodruff

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