The Hurricane

The Hurricane
Directed by Norman Jewison
Starring : Denzel Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev
Shreiber, John Hannah, Dan Hedaya, Debbi Morgan, Rod Steiger
and David Paymer
playing at theaters accessible to everyone - ie - multiplexes, etc.
* * * (three stars)

no time to read the whole review?
THE JIST of MY PROSE Sure, it's hollywood-ized. But isn't everything these days? Great performances from Washington and Hedaya - and some really inspired sequences, particularly the scene that makes the movie what it is - when Carter, pinned down in "solitary confinement", has a hazy conversation with his evolving self. In that moment - fact or fiction doesn't matter - it's the very image of a man becoming something new before our very eyes that mesmerizes - and, indeed - plagues us. A powerhouse of a film - if less than overwhelming with it's overall greatness.

I had a thought during the opening boxing scene, intercut beautifully with the
murder at the Lafayette Tavern - that the whole movie could've been filmed in black &
white to underline the racial struggle - of course, it would've warranted far too much
comparison to 'Raging Bull', so that would have been pure madness. As I watched, I
began to find connection with the color. The color of clothing, skin and the color of his
world became something important, something worth looking at. The real articulation of
the color of peach skin and brown skin - and the way these two can come to blows and
join together - I had changed my mind right quick about the black, white and grey stock
being a smart bet. The color of darkness painted in prison, in his mind - the color of hate
and the color to be shrugged off. The color of light - in his mind, the shades of brown
wear that seem to populate ever frame of this movie. Carter’s world, as painted in
sadness and broken with hope. Something to play around with in your heads while you
watch.

The movie is beautifully structured, beautifully edited to say the least. There's a
scene where Ruben Carter is in lock-down (or "the hole", as it's so delightfully referred to
in films) and begins to talk to himself - or - the self that's evolving and arguing with
itself. This scene is riveting - and absolutely magnificent. It's Carter in the hole as
therapy. Later on, when he must transcend the racial bigotry he feels towards white
people, he fights with the internal dialogue, putting his boxing coat back on - what a
moment. He sees himself in a world of anger and steps into the ring of logic. What a
transcendence. What a man.

There's a nice point about his peaceful opposition, contrasted with anger, welling
within the Carter. The hate he used to make his body a weapon - makes a really succinct
element in his realization that he didn't speak English anymore - he spoke "hate". So,
when he overcomes that, he's well-spoken. It's really hard to miss this, which is great.

There's some amazing dialogue and some amazing acting. Denzel Washington,
who is such a passionate, creative chameleon, is raw power and quiet eloquence here.
Another, if expected, amazing performance from the man.

I also liked (and would appreciate an Oscar nod) Dan Hedaya - a truly effective
threatening dirty police chief (and he doesn't even take his shirt off - if you remember
that godawful 'Alien : Resurrection', where he removes his shirt to reveal that he is in
fact, the sasquatch wearing a sweater - the hairiest guy on earth). I always enjoy Hedaya -
but this is a different kind of performance - one that deserves recognition. And one that's
chilling.

Also, reminiscent of 'The Straight Story' (where the length and hassle of Alvin's
trip stood for the magnitude that told his brother of his sincerity), the roundabout, risky
and situation-based push to the underlying meaning of Carter's plight - how he was
betting on the judge (delightful old grump Rod Steiger - didn't he die yet?) being
sympathetic to the evidence is magical. I love when movies can do that. They can show
the seemingly oddball logic of a human being - of whose brain we can't fully grasp - and
justify it.

And no matter if it's a Hollywood-ized version of the truth and of this potent story that's been knocking around in my head ever since I heard Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" in 'Dazed and Confused' and became obsessed with it.

This is a film that doesn't release it's grip on you. A familiar type of film, with a
grand courtroom sequence where a wrong is righted, things we’ve seen before, but
nevertheless - powerful stuff. A film about victories - large and small. And that Dylan
song haunts the very presence of the images it hosts. And Washington's magnitude - in
acting - hits us like a boxing glove to the groin - left to stagger out of the theater in tears
- and in pain.

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