Always Outnumbered

Based on the Walter Mosley novel of the same name, the 1998 HBO film centers Socrates Fortlow (Laurence Fishburne), a hard-boiled and captivating ex-con, searching for work and purpose in Los Angeles as his ailing elder (Bill Cobbs) and romantic interest (Natalie Cole) support him on his path to betterment. As the film unfolds, the rough and gritty exterior the film initially presents is unraveled to display a truth we are all familiar with: survival depends on us all.