There's really no middle-ground when it comes to movies about the homeless: you either always watch them or you never do. If you always watch them, you've probably seen The Soloist, Cardboard Boxer, Shelter, Being Flynn, Same Kind of Different as Me, Stone Pillow, Time Out of Mind, No Place Like Home, The Lady in the Van, and of course, The Saint of Fort Washington. This one is pretty well known, especially if you grew up in the 1990s and watched a bunch of Danny Glover or Matt Dillon movies.
Being a fan of both actors, I rented this movie during Danny Glover's week on Hot Toasty Rag, only to remember halfway through that I'd already seen it! I guess I've seen too many of these movies, and they all started to blend together in my memory. If you're new to the genre, this is a good one to start with because it feels like Sociology 101. Danny Glover plays a Vietnam veteran, and Matt Dillon plays a man with schizophrenia. In case you didn't know, there are lots of veterans on the street as well as (ever since President Regan closed the mental hospitals) lots of people who are mentally ill. The 101 students might wonder, "Why don't those people go to a homeless shelter?" The purpose of this movie is to answer that question. The shelter Fort Washington is a very large facility with metal detectors, guards, and hundreds of cots. While technically, these men (homeless shelters must be segregated) have a roof over their heads for the night, it's far from the safety us homeowners imagine it to be. Danny shows his new friend Matt how to survive in Fort Washington: anchor your shoes under the bed frame posts and store anything you want to keep in your underwear. There are dangerous, violent people who are let in shelters, and they rob, emotionally harass, beat up, and sometimes murder other men. This movie shows a representative of that type, played by Ving Rhames.
During the daytime, Danny tries to make a living by washing car windows during traffic jams (another representative). He teaches Matt the ropes on that trade, like making jokes and complimenting the drivers for a bigger tip. Obviously, you're going to see some great acting in this movie. Matt really convinces you that his focus isn't "all there", and Danny is completely believable as a homeless man. You can tell he's lived through horrors, but he's completely accepted that his life will never get any better.
However, if you're really not in the mood to learn about such a terrible way of life, I wouldn't recommend it. There are lots of people who enjoy watching these movies, so they can talk about how awful the homeless problem is and how "someone" should do something about it; then, they step around the carboard boxes in the street. If you really, really think about how terrible it is that men who have risked their lives for our country are living under freeways, or that people who should be in mental hospitals are left to fend for themselves on the street, it's unbearable. It's too painful to really, really think, though. But if you can, try to be a little nicer to the guy who washes your window in a traffic jam.
Being a fan of both actors, I rented this movie during Danny Glover's week on Hot Toasty Rag, only to remember halfway through that I'd already seen it! I guess I've seen too many of these movies, and they all started to blend together in my memory. If you're new to the genre, this is a good one to start with because it feels like Sociology 101. Danny Glover plays a Vietnam veteran, and Matt Dillon plays a man with schizophrenia. In case you didn't know, there are lots of veterans on the street as well as (ever since President Regan closed the mental hospitals) lots of people who are mentally ill. The 101 students might wonder, "Why don't those people go to a homeless shelter?" The purpose of this movie is to answer that question. The shelter Fort Washington is a very large facility with metal detectors, guards, and hundreds of cots. While technically, these men (homeless shelters must be segregated) have a roof over their heads for the night, it's far from the safety us homeowners imagine it to be. Danny shows his new friend Matt how to survive in Fort Washington: anchor your shoes under the bed frame posts and store anything you want to keep in your underwear. There are dangerous, violent people who are let in shelters, and they rob, emotionally harass, beat up, and sometimes murder other men. This movie shows a representative of that type, played by Ving Rhames.
During the daytime, Danny tries to make a living by washing car windows during traffic jams (another representative). He teaches Matt the ropes on that trade, like making jokes and complimenting the drivers for a bigger tip. Obviously, you're going to see some great acting in this movie. Matt really convinces you that his focus isn't "all there", and Danny is completely believable as a homeless man. You can tell he's lived through horrors, but he's completely accepted that his life will never get any better.
However, if you're really not in the mood to learn about such a terrible way of life, I wouldn't recommend it. There are lots of people who enjoy watching these movies, so they can talk about how awful the homeless problem is and how "someone" should do something about it; then, they step around the carboard boxes in the street. If you really, really think about how terrible it is that men who have risked their lives for our country are living under freeways, or that people who should be in mental hospitals are left to fend for themselves on the street, it's unbearable. It's too painful to really, really think, though. But if you can, try to be a little nicer to the guy who washes your window in a traffic jam.