Strengths of This Cast Are Eventually ‘Outnumbered’

The HBO film “Always Outnumbered” is an often pleasing but ultimately disappointing character study whose subject--a strong black male in South-Central Los Angeles--is a refreshing departure for TV.

A good cast headed by Laurence Fishburne, an interesting writer (Walter Mosely) and a good director (Michael Apted) collaborate on this tale about an ex-con whose private demons, violent nature and dire finances do not stop him from carving out a dignified existence in a volatile, mostly shabby section of the city where it’s said “you don’t have to join no army to go to war.”

“Always Outnumbered” is drawn from a collection of Mosley’s short stories and appears to have special meaning to him and co-executive producer Fishburne, whose performance here is first-rate. The supporting players also perform ably. Moreover, the film has a nubby texture and a protagonist whose unconventional heroism sustains your interest, at least for a while. The problems are on a script level.

There’s nothing Socratic about Socrates Fortlow (Fishburne), who is at war with local hoodlums and crack heads who threaten his friends and with a society that seems intent on blocking him from meaningful employment despite his great determination to get a job. He’s forced to scratch out a nonliving by collecting bottles and cans and redeeming them for a few dollars a day.

His closest friends are the codger-like Right Burke (Bill Cobbs), who is Mosely’s narrator, and a young boy, Daryl (Daniel Williams), whom Socrates befriends and takes under his wing.

Socrates is as arresting as he is ambiguous in his self-appointed role as neighborhood enabler, a man whose rough edges and seething presence define “Always Outnumbered” and his struggle to overcome his tumultuous environment and his own dark side. As he says, people “can smell the bad on me.” That “smell” is what makes the story initially distinctive.

“Always Outnumbered” gradually slows and softens to distraction, though. Mosely avoids cheap sentiment but does not halt Socrates’ descent into an abyss of do-gooder paternalism that is a bit hard to swallow. As are the story’s tidy resolutions. They leave you warmed but skeptical.

* “Always Outnumbered” appears at 9 tonight on HBO. The network has rated it TV-MA-L-V (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17, with advisories for coarse language and violence).