and the time come when the risk to remain tight in a bud be more painful than the risk it take to blossom anais nin marcel proust say and the real voyage of discovery lie in not see new landscape but in have new eye . author and screenwriter antwone fisher join the u. s. navy to see new landscape but the demon of his past prevent him from see the world through new eye . base on his autobiography find fish write many year after the event and his story be dramatize in the film antwone fisher and denzel washington first directorial effort . it be a heartfelt if somewhat formulaic look at the painful process of move from be consume by one past to be able to live life in present time . require to attend therapy session after several outburst of anger at the base and the painful aspect of his childhood be show in flashback a the grown up antwone ( derek luke ) recount his life in session with navy psychiatrist jerome davenport ( denzel washington ) . he be at first unwilling to talk and but when he begin and the floodgate be open . after his father be shoot to death by a girlfriend and antwone be abandon by his mother after be release from prison and he be place in a foster home where he live for fourteen year and suffer humiliation and sexual abuse . accord to antwone and the treatment by his foster mother mrs. tate ( novella nelson ) who refer to him only a nigga and by his cousin nadine ( yolonda ross ) be in fact much bad than show on the screen . the only friend he have be a local by name jesse ( jascha washington ) who and later in the film and only add to his feeling of abandonment . it be difficult to build a film around psychiatric session but it be do successfully in ordinary people and good will hunt with a great deal more dramatic interest but it succeed here because of the dominant performance of washington and luke and though the film attempt to compress eleven year into a few month seem a bit too facile . davenport humanity and warmth and however and allow fisher to feel safe enough to discuss his difficult past and cheryl ( joy bryant ) and his new girlfriend who be also in the navy and support him in his struggle to achieve a breakthrough . with cheryl help and dr. davenport counseling and antwone develop enough self esteem to return to cleveland and begin the journey to try and find his mother in order to complete the past . what come through in derek luke incredible performance be antwone long for acceptance and dramatize in a heartbreaking dream show at the beginning of the film in which he be the guest of honor at a banquet fill with people who love him . comedian mort sahl once say that people just have to remember what be all here for represent to find our way home . antwone fisher touch not only on the longing of one young person to find his way home but reach all those who have cry themselves to sleep and not know the joy of be love .