Once in the Life

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Once in the Life

R

2000

1h 47m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

28%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, "Once in the Life" is a realistic depiction of how everyday choices affect our path in life. It is a cautionary tale about making the wrong choices and the inevitable, tragic conclusion of an individual who is drawn to a life of crime - - once in the life, always in the life.

Critics Consensus

Once in a Life is a promising directorial effort by Laurence Fishburne. But the story is too conventional and similar to the many ghetto action/dramas that come before it.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Talky in the best sense.

Rated: B

Jan 1, 2000

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Billy's meltdown provides a real-time reality check, but for most of the time we're waiting for the payoff, and when it comes, I'm afraid, it's not very satisfying.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Gene Seymour

Newsday

In opening up his play for a filmed version, Once in the Life, Fishburne may have only succeeded in magnifying the flaws of his original.

Jan 1, 2000

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 17, 2005

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Jeffrey Westhoff

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

It reeks of staged theater: three men in one room talking endlessly.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 16, 2002

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Ryan Cracknell

Apollo Guide

Rated: 52/100

Apr 9, 2001

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Audience Member

I Like the way it starts!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Rotten blaxploitation trash. I paused and paid attention to the terrible dialogue for a moment and counted SEVEN "fucks" in two lines. That kind of writing is hard to watch.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Although my expectations weren't high for this movie coming in, I was still a little disappointed with it. I thought it was at least going to have more action in it but it didn't deliver on that. Just a lot of repetitive talking. Not worth watching.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Laurence Fishburne established himself as one of the most compelling actors making films today with simmering performances that command the screen. With Once in the Life, a tale of small-time crooks on the run from a heist gone wrong, he adds ...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

excellent film but more like a play due to the pacing

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is Reservoir Dogs without the Diamond Heist set-up and the all-out hipster bullshit.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, "Once in the Life" is a realistic depiction of how everyday choices affect our path in life. It is a cautionary tale about making the wrong choices and the inevitable, tragic conclusion of an individual who is drawn to a life of crime - - once in the life, always in the life.

Director: Laurence Fishburne
Producer: David Bushell, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland
Screenwriter: Laurence Fishburne, Laurence Fishburne
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Shooting Gallery, Cinema Gypsy Productions
Rating: R (Strong Violence|Some Drug Content|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.5K
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround