‘Higher Learning’ Grim Look At College Life
After showing a flair for comedy and romance in his uneven but entertaining second feature “Poetic Justice,” John Singleton heads to the front lines of America’s collegiate culture wars in the deadly earnest but melodramatic “Higher Learning.”
Overly didactic and humorless, “Higher Learning” is writer-director Singleton’s grim greeting card for the new year.
Set at fictitious Columbus University, “Higher Learning” follows the experiences of three impressionable freshmen - track star Malik (Omar Epps), Orange County princess Kristen (Kristy Swanson) and Midwestern loner Remy (Michael Rapaport). An ominous air hangs over the film from the outset, and Singleton rarely strays from issue-oriented drama.
Tribalism, date rape, institutionalized racism and prejudice, self-motivation, sexual experimentation and other hotbutton issues are the challenging course load.
The film races along for its first 90 minutes in quick scenes that last just long enough to make a point, leaving little quality time for the characters. As Kristen rebounds from a frat boy’s drunken assault, she gets palsy with a lesbian nurturer (Jennifer Connelly). As Malik rebounds from motivational tough-love lashings from a political science prof (Laurence Fishburne), he finds romance with a pretty, amiable runner (Tyra Banks). Similarly, Remy rebounds from his initial cold reception in the fractious environment by falling in with a group of local neo-Nazi skinheads.
The stage is set for a series of vicious fights and volatile encounters between Remy’s pals and Malik’s ad hoc posse of black students led by butt-kicking sage Fudge (Ice Cube). Although Singleton films the riotous finale with a ferociousness that is undeniably shocking and moving, he puts perhaps too great a burden on Rapaport to portray his character’s evolution from shy outsider to random shooter.
The performances are the film’s unqualified strong point, with Swanson successfully graduating to serious roles and Epps providing a solid center to anchor one’s interest. Connelly gets top billing, but she’s hardly a major character. Regina King as Kristen’s likable roomie is delightful and Banks makes a strong impression in her film debut. Ice Cube and Fishburne likewise post superior grades for their energetic performances.
With exteriors filmed at USC and UCLA, the film captures the messy, hormones-meet-textbooks milieu of college life.
Cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister, like the characters, is equally at home in smoky bars or on the athletic field. Jazz bassist and composer Stanley Clarke swings with the film’s dark and darker moods, while music supervisor Danny Bramson has put together a hot soundtrack of new and recent tunes.
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