Life

In New York in 1932 two strangers, the hustler Ray and the waiter Claude, go to Mississippi to run liquor in order to clear a debt. On the way they are framed for a murder by a local sheriff and sent down for life. From there the film covers sixty years. The two grow old in a prison farm, their escape plans come to nothing, and the possibility of a life outside recedes a little more each decade. Ted Demme directed. Eddie Murphy plays Ray and Martin Lawrence plays Claude. The technical spine is the ageing makeup. Rick Baker aged both actors in stages across six decades, and Murphy and Lawrence changed their voices and walks to match. It was nominated for Best Makeup at the 72nd Academy Awards. The box office fell short: 73.5 million dollars worldwide against an 80 million budget. The reviews were mixed. The film found its audience later and is treated as a cult item among fans of the two leads. Who it is for: viewers who like prison films that carry comedy and drama together, and the Murphy and Lawrence pairing. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a consistent tone. The film jokes and describes racial injustice in the same scene, and the transitions do not always hold.