Crooklyn movie storyline. In 1973, nine-year-old Troy Carmichael (Zelda Harris) and her brothers Clinton (Carlton Williams), Wendell (Sharif Rashed), Nate (Chris Knowings), and Joseph (Tse-Mach Washington) live in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The children live with their parents, Woody (Delroy Lindo), a struggling musician, and Carolyn (Alfre Woodard), a schoolteacher.
The neighborhood is filled with colorful characters. The Carmichaels’ next-door neighbor, Tony Eyes (David Patrick Kelly) continuously sings. Snuffy (Spike Lee) and Right Hand Man (N. Jeremi Duru) are glue sniffers. Vic Powell (Isaiah Washington) is a war vet who lives upstairs from the Carmichaels.
One day, the Carmichael children get into a dispute with Tony who alleges that they are always throwing trash into his area. The argument escalates when Carolyn and several neighborhood children get involved. Tony is still yelling when Vic comes downstairs. Vic then punches Tony in the face. Troy, who has sneaked out to the corner store, sees Vic getting arrested as she leaves the store.
One night, Woody and Carolyn argue about money; Carolyn resents Woody because he isn’t earning money as a musician and because he has bounced checks. The argument escalates as Carolyn yells for the children to turn off the television. Carolyn later turns off the TV. Clinton turns it back on. Carolyn grabs him for disobeying her and Woody grabs her and carries her out of the room. Woody drags Carolyn down the stairs and Nate jumps on Woody’s back. The other children hold Carolyn and Carolyn hurts her ankle in the struggle.
Carolyn kicks Woody out of the house. Woody brings flowers to Carolyn and the two reconcile. The family then decides to go on a trip. As they are leaving, a worker from Con Ed comes by to shut off the electricity due to an unpaid bill. The trip is postponed and the family has to use candles for light.
A few days later, Nate and Troy travel to the South to stay with relatives. Troy stays with her cousin, Viola (Patriece Nelson), who was adopted by Uncle Clem (Norman Matlock) and Aunt Song (Frances Foster). Troy has fun with Viola despite a dislike of Aunt Song and her dog, Queenie. On Troy’s tenth birthday, she gets a letter from Carolyn.
After reading the letter, Troy decides she wants to go home. When Troy returns to New York, she is picked up at the airport by Aunt Maxine (Joie Lee) and Uncle Brown (Vondie Curtis-Hall). Troy later learns her mother is in the hospital and is taken to see her.
Crooklyn is a 1994 semi-autobiographical film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. The film takes place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York during the summer of 1973.[1] Its primary focus is a young girl, Troy (played by Zelda Harris), and her family. Throughout the film, Troy learns life lessons through her four rowdy brothers, her loving but strict mother (Alfre Woodard), and her naive, struggling father (Delroy Lindo).
A distinctive characteristic of Crooklyn is its soundtrack, composed completely of music from the 1970s, except the hit single “Crooklyn” by the Crooklyn Dodgers, a rap crew composed of Buckshot, Masta Ace, and Special Ed. A two-volume release of the soundtrack became available on CD along with the release of the film.
Crooklyn (1994)
Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, Zelda Harris, David Patrick Kelly, Carlton Williams, José Zúñiga, Ivelka Reyes, Isaiah Washington, Frances Foster
Screenplay by: Joie Susannah Lee, Cinqué Lee, Spike Lee
Production Design by: Wynn Thomas
Cinematography by: Arthur Jafa
Film Editing by: Barry Alexander Brown
Costume Design by: Ruth E. Carter
Set Decoration by: Ted Glass
Art Direction by: Chris Shriver
Music by: Terence Blanchard
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for drug content.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 13, 1994
Hits: 127
