Fresh

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Fresh

R

1994

1h 52m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old drug dealer who finds himself trapped in a web of poverty, corruption and racial tension in Brooklyn, New York. When his drug-addict sister Nichole (N'Bushe Wright) starts sleeping with local drug lord Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito), Fresh calls upon the skills he learned playing chess with his alcoholic father and speed-chess champion Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) and devises a complex strategy that will free both himself and his sister.

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Critics Consensus

Well cast and sharply directed, Fresh serves as an attention-getting calling card for writer-director Boaz Yakin as well as a gripping urban drama.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

03/04/2019

Though well acted, and handsomely shot by veteran Adam Holender, Fresh sacrifices real emotion for thriller contrivances. It's a tourist's drive through inner-city hell.

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

04/21/2015

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.

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

04/21/2015

4/5

The strength of the piece is that it realises which aspects of its genre have been seen too many times, always coming back to Nelson's blank but expressive stare as he watches terrible things the director doesn't need to shove in our faces.

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Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

02/25/2022

3/4

Surely not for the squeamish, this film will send you away with scars of your own.

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Deborah Hornblow

Hartford Courant

09/15/2020

4/4

Screenwriter Boaz Yakin makes a stunning directorial debut with "Fresh," the gripping, finely acted tale of a 12- year-old's life on the mean streets of New York.

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Stephen Hunter

Baltimore Sun

04/21/2015

2.5/4

The movie's two instincts are at complete odds with each other.

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Max M

@Househuntermax Jul 22

Compelling urban drama. No real great action scenes but the story keeps you in it. Recommend.

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AD 3

@RT11830953 Feb 20

The main issue is its phony. The chess itself is phony, its only the allure of chess or somebody mystified by the game as a complete amateur that would actually think his chess game enabled the kid to set everybody vs eachother. Amazingly they fall for it

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Dixie M.

@DMDarne123 Jan 20

The story to me is amazing 8/10

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Lloyd S

@Lloyd93 Jan 16

Good watch, but slow.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 05/20/2025

1 hour and 52 minutes of drama!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Samuel L. Jackson as Sam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $7,700,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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C.S.R T

@Uyghiii 03/07/2025

Absolute master class! Some people play checkers, but Fresh was playing chess the whole time! Four stars A+ Unbelievable movie!

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Boaz Yakin

Director

Sean Nelson

Fresh

Giancarlo Esposito

Esteban

Samuel L. Jackson

Sam

N'Bushe Wright

Nichole

Ron Brice

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Synopsis

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old drug dealer who finds himself trapped in a web of poverty, corruption and racial tension in Brooklyn, New York. When his drug-addict sister Nichole (N'Bushe Wright) starts sleeping with local drug lord Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito), Fresh calls upon the skills he learned playing chess with his alcoholic father and speed-chess champion Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) and devises a complex strategy that will free both himself and his sister.

Director: Boaz Yakin
Producer: Lawrence Bender, Randy Ostrow
Screenwriter: Boaz Yakin
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.7M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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