20 Coming-Of-Age Movies That Are Totally Flawless
15. Boyz N The Hood (1991)
Directed by the late John Singleton in his feature debut, Boyz n the Hood follows three African-American teens (Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut) who find themselves struggling to adapt to life in Los Angeles.
It's Gooding Jr's protagonist Tre who takes centre stage here, forced to live with his tough father (Laurence Fishburne) in a neighbourhood that slowly sees his closest friends ruined by crime and violence.
Brilliantly performed throughout, Boyz n the Hood is both compassionate and harsh in its assessment of poverty, trauma, and the Black experience in 90s America.
Like Spike Lee's recent masterpiece Do the Right Thing, Boyz n the Hood served as a major turning point in Hollywood's approach to telling Black stories, and from it came a film that still packs a thought-provoking punch to this day.