Brian Banks

I give this movie five stars

This movie is based on the true story of Brian Banks a Black high school football player with dreams and the talent of becoming an NFL player. At the age of sixteen, he is already being scouted by NFL coaches and has earned a scholarship to USC when a high school classmate accuses him of rape. Long story short: he did not rape her, but he might as well have. His life takes a downward turn after the accusations. He is represented by a lawyer that encourages him to take a plea deal inspite of the fact that there was no DNA evidence to support the classmate's accusation of rape. The lawyer tells him she's seen this before and he will go to jail if he does not plea. She tells him that the plea will allow him to go home to his family and continue to play football. He takes the plea, the judge gives him six years in prison, five years probation, and he has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

After he is released from prison, he realizes that he can't get a job as a convicted felon, can't go near a park, school, or playground, can't play football and can't have a life. He takes matters into his own hands and searches for an attorney to help him get his conviction overturned. He is told numerous times that it can't be done. There's nothing he can do. At one point, his own probation officer threatens to put him back in prison if he continues to go outside when he shouldn't to work on his case. In the end, Brian's persistence prevails. Why? To his shock and probably the shock of everyone watching the film, the "victim" sends him a facebook friend request while he is online searching for legal advice one day. She thought he looked good and wanted to meet up. This leads to Brian getting the evidence he needed to free himself

from his nightmare. This movie is a must see for those who look to be inspired, need to believe in the system again, or just can't believe that this girl would be foolish enough to reach out to someone who's life she nearly ruined.