LAURENCE Fishburne’s debut as a writer-director doesn’t do much to disguise its origins as his grim, three-character off-Broadway play from 1994, “Riff Raff.”
Sure, there are brief appearances by characters only referred to by dialogue in the play, such as a sadistic henchman (a most unlikely Gregory Hines) and a kidnapped wife (Annabella Scicorra).
But basically it’s an acting exercise – a one-set rendition of that old stage and movie standby, the ex-convict struggling to go straight who’s tempted to attempt one last score.
For “20/20” (played by Fishburne), whose nickname reflects his supposed street instincts, temptation arrives in the form of his long-estranged half brother, a junkie nicknamed “The Torch” (Titus Welliver).
Things go horribly wrong when they intercept a drug shipment. “The Torch” is seriously injured, and it turns out the stolen heroin belongs to a very vengeful crime boss (Paul Calderon), who leans on “Tony the Tiger” (Eamonn Walker), an ex-cellmate of “20/20’s” to get it back.
Fishburne is solid as usual as an actor, but as a director his notable achievement is capturing a searing, affecting performance by Welliver as a pathetic, drug-addled character that at its best recalls Dustin Hoffman’s Ratso Rizzo in “Midnight Cowboy.”
It would easily qualify for an Oscar nomination if it were in a movie that was a bit less like canned theater and more cinematic, like the even more harrowing “Requiem for a Dream.”
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ONCE IN THE LIFE 1/2
The old one about the ex-convict tragically tempted from the straight and narrow – basically canned theater, elevated by a remarkable performance from Titus Welliver as a junkie. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated R (drug use, violence). At the Empire and the Union Square.