Dead Presidents – Review

Spanning the late 60s and into the mid-70s, Dead Presidents is a tale covering a young man’s journey into manhood through wartime, and the fallout of his choices thereafter. This movie is probably remembered for the wrong reasons, as there is a whole lot going on during the film’s study of character and economic environments.

In the north east Bronx in 1968, high schooler Anthony Curtis (Tate) spends his time delivering milk with his buddies Skip (Tucker) and Jose (Rodriguez), while fantasizing about girls like sisters Juanita (Jackson) and Delilah (Wright). By spring 1969, Anthony is helping local hoodlum Kirby (David) with running numbers. The neighborhood likes his bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed nature, and so does Kirby of the soon-to-be graduate.

Local thug Cowboy (Howard) thinks less of Anthony though, and the pair clash before Kirby steps in, eventually also taking Anthony on a quick run. This opens his eyes to violence; however, Anthony does not look away. His parents assume that Anthony will follow the path of his accomplished brother Andrew (Washington), and they smile at being able to tell everyone they have two college graduates on the way. Maybe even graduate school!

Anthony though… he has other plans which brings immediate disappointment to his family. He is tired of school. He is focused on the Marine Corps, and his own life. His father had fought in Korea, and had always said it had made a man of him, so why wouldn’t it work for Anthony too? He and his friends Skip and Jose wind up enlisting, and are shipped into the middle of Vietnam war fury.

The film spends plenty of time during the war and introducing new characters, as well as veering off into a criminal territory back home in New York after the war. Characters evolve or devolve as they face the ugly nature of humanity in battle, as well as struggling with family, love, sanity, PTSD, drugs, money, power, and usual unavoidable personal drama.

Dead Presidents covers a lot of ground with plenty of cause and effect on a multitude of its character’s lives.  Mostly, the story is centered around the journey of a man who saw the horrors of war and came home to a country, society and community that did not offer him enough support or ability to provide for his family. The cast is great, and the story is pretty good, however it does have so many elements that it’s was tough for the script to fully develop all of them.