The Hurricane

Rating:
Summary: An Amazingly Powerful Story with a Great Cast
Review: Denzel Washington gives an amazing preformance in one of the best movies of the year. Norman Jewison directors a wonderful cast to a letter perfect film. One of the highlights of the film is Debbie Morgan's brief but powerful preformance as Ruben's wife. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a good movie and cry.

Rating:
Summary: As fiction: it's good
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable film with a heartbreaking performance by Denzel Washington that might deserve 5 stars if it was fiction, and now that I think about it, it might as well been advertised as fiction instead of a "true story". I can't get past the fact the the filmmakers made Hurricane Carter look like an angel when I doubt he was, and one rogue white detective overly dedicated to destroying Hurricanes life as if he positivley had nothing better to do. Not to say there wasn't racism in the police force then and now, but don't insult me by advertising this as a true story, or even based one one when you blatantly show only one side of the story, Hurricane's side. Sure, this is art and the facts don't need to be followed exactly, dramatic license and all that, but the plot, story and characters were set up perfectly just to manipulate the viewers mind and emotions. SO, if you can get past that it's worth seeing for Denzel's performance of a tortured man going through many transformations in his life, and how he copes mentally and emotionally while being locked in the lonely, spirit-crushing, claustrophobic confines of prison. Also, as much as I like Kevin Spacey I thought Denzel deserved the Oscar. Perhaps academy voters were turned off by the controversial aspect of the film in regards to how much of it was true or not.

Rating:
Summary: Great Performance, Iffy Movie
Review: Denzel Washington's performance is the best thing in this misguided drama. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters, including a fictional evil cop played by Dan Hedaya and a trio of do-gooders who help free the imprisoned boxers are laughably silly and downright corny.

Rating:
Summary: flawed but powerful drama
Review: The most startling revelation about Norman Jewison's film `The Hurricane' is that this true-life account of middleweight champion Ruben `Hurricane' Carter turns out to be more about the glories of writing than of boxing. In fact, almost no time at all in the film is dedicated to chronicling the details of Carter's fighting career but rather to the attempts made by him and others on his behalf to prove his innocence in a murder case that resulted in his serving a nearly 20-year long prison sentence.

The sympathies of the filmmakers clearly lie with Carter, although a number of people have, since the release of the film, challenged some of the film's reliability and veracity. As one completely unacquainted with the facts of the case as they initially played themselves out, I am certainly in no position to adjudge the authenticity and accuracy of the film. As a piece of drama, however, `The Hurricane' generates an impressive amount of interest in the viewer and even attains emotional greatness in a few scenes. Because the film is trying to come at the story from so many different angles, it occasionally feels a bit like a patchwork - part boxing film, part prison drama, part investigative thriller, part inspirational feel-good drama - rather than a completely unified work of art. And, understandably, the film is more successful in some of those areas than in others.

The first half of the film is pretty standard issue stuff. We get, perhaps, a somewhat overly sketchy portrayal of the events in Carter's life before the fateful night in Paterson, NJ when he found himself the prime suspect at a murder scene. We see Carter as an 11-year old boy getting in trouble with the law for defending himself against a pedophile who turns out to be a well-respected and highly placed figure in the local community. This incident introduces him to the Paterson sergeant (Dan Hedaya) who plays the Javert to Carter's Jean Valjean, dedicating his life to seeing that Carter never lives his life outside prison, hounding him out of a misguided sense of self-righteous zeal - an obsession aggravated by the galling fact that Carter has since gone on to achieve international notoriety in the ring. As in many of the early sections of the film, the writers Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon fail to portray the incidents in Carter's life in a well-rounded, totally believable way. We find it hard to understand just why this one black child - among a vast number in Paterson one presumes - would fire up this sergeant's passion so intensely. We also are rushed along through Carter's early stints in prison, his time in the military, his rise to fame in the boxing world, sometimes with little more than voice-over excerpts from Carter's novel to inform us of how much he has learned and changed from his experiences. The script is so jumpy at times that we never feel we get to know much about the young Carter at all.

Luckily for us, this is not all there is to `The Hurricane.' The writers and director wisely enlarge the canvas of their story to include the teenager, Lesra Martin, whose contact it was with Carter, languishing almost forgotten in prison, that ultimately set the wheels of justice rolling that would lead to Carter's eventual release. And herein lies the real emotional core of the story. Lesra, a near-illiterate inner city boy from Brooklyn, living with some benevolent white liberals in Canada, purchases an old copy of the autobiographical best-selling novel Carter wrote in prison - the first book Lesra has ever read - and becomes so caught up in the similarities to his own life pouring off the pages that he decides to write to Carter in prison. A warm relationship develops between the aging convict and the budding youngster which eventually leads to Lesra's introducing Carter to his mentors who then take up the cause of getting Carter's case overturned. The highlight of the film is clearly the mesmerizing, emotionally riveting first encounter between Lesra and Carter; we sit spellbound as the two hurting individuals grope tentatively towards one another, each seeking that connection with (and recognition from) the other on the common ground of their parallel life experiences that they need so desperately. As the two discuss the liberating effect their writing has on both of them, the film becomes a glorious paean to the power and might of the written word. It is a truly unforgettable scene.

Unfortunately, the film only achieves that gripping emotional power a few times afterwards and in each occasion it is the connection between Lesra and Carter that brings it about. The three Canadian activists who take on the case for Carter's innocence remain underdeveloped as characters. We wonder how they can afford to leave their jobs in Canada and dedicate themselves exclusively to Carter's cause. And why are they always together? Do they have any other relationships in their lives or have they taken a vow of celibacy to go along with their social crusading? Their successful attempts to unravel the mystery of what really happened on that night in 1966 are interesting on the level of historicity but these sequences weaken the emotional drama at the film's core. Since we do not get to know these characters as fully fleshed-out human beings, we watch these scenes with an attitude of detached disinterest rather than intense emotional involvement Perhaps, the story of Ruben `Hurricane' Carter is too diverse a one to be successfully encapsulated even in a film that runs an impressive 146 minutes.

I realize, of course, that I have not yet mentioned Denzel Washington's impressive performance as Carter. He literally holds the film together since there is virtually no scene in which he is not present. This tour-de-force role allows him to run the emotional gambit from sullen rage and explosive fury to warmhearted tenderness and stoic idealism (and how many 40-something actors could still convincingly portray a man in his early '20's)? Equally impressive, though, is young Vicellous Reon Shannon's work as the disadvantaged but ever idealistic Lesra. Together these two extraordinary actors take `The Hurricane' to impressive emotional heights. This is their film all the way and it undoubtedly does `The Hurricane' himself proud.

Rating:
Summary: Schmaltzy uplift
Review: Why is it that black Americans only make it into the movies if they are in some way victimized by white culture? And why do these movies always take place in the past, as if the contemporary black experience has no drama in it? And why do movies that are "uplifting" always descend into schmaltzy quotations from the bible? And why does the victimized always turn into a Job-like stoic? And why are bland actors always chosen to play Canadians?

The Hurricane offers no answers to the questions but it sure illustrates these flaws. Everyone talks about how Denzel was "robbed" of the Oscar given to Kevin Spacey for AMERICAN BEAUTY. Please. Rubin Carter, for all his hellfire early in the movie, is another in a long line of you-done-me-wrong, we-shall-overcome heroes straight out of ROOTS. And speaking of AMERICAN BEAUTY, why isn't an intelligent drama like that made about a black family? ORDINARY PEOPLE could have been done with African-Americans. WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF could have been, too. Obviously, I'm talking about scathing, cutting-edge dramas which for some reason African-Americans never get into but are instead relegated to playing slaves or seven-foot-tall Christ-like figures or boxers brought down by racist cops. Come on, Hollywood, get some courage.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational for the young audience - routine for others
Review: Although based on facts, this is a re run of the old film plot line from THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA. Wrongly racially/ethnically imprisoned man is freed by efforts of those on the outside fighting a large corrupt political machine. Denzel is effective but not worthy of his Oscar nom. The real value of this film is the message geared towards the younger audience members in promoting the value of being able to read and write and thus communicate thoughts and feelings for the ultimate purpose of righting wrong and doing good. The film is vastly overlong at two and a half hours although it's entertaining. It proves there are no new stories under the sun and no new plot lines in Hollywood.

Rating:
Summary: A great story of love and hope!
Review: This is a great movie that brings you mixed feelings. It gives you anger, sorrow, strength, compassion, love and hope! This movie is based on the true life story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, played by Denzel Washington. He's chased by a racial driven detective since the age of 11. Being dealt the wrong hand in life, he spends half of his life (wrongfully accused) in jail. I didn't like the directing in the first half of the movie. The director, Norman Jewison, kept jumping from one time frame to another, sometimes without you knowing. During the second half of the movie, it started settling down. It focused more on Hurricane and his relationship with Lesra and his 3 Canadian tutors. Lesra was inspired by Hurricane's publicized book. Hurricane befriends Lesra and his 3 tutors. In fact, they devote their entire lives in trying to prove Hurricane's innocence. Something that activists, famous actors and musicians failed to do before them. This wasn't your typical jail-type of movie. It didn't have any rape, drugs or violence. I look forward to reading the out-of-print hard copy of Hurricane's book, "The 16th Round...".

Rating:
Summary: Smart movie with some drawbacks
Review: Worthy, if only because it reopened dialogue on Hurricaine Carter. Denzel Washington's acting is the best thing in this somewhat confused version of the true-life story of boxer Carter, who was imprisoned on a flimsy murder charge. Story makes the same mistake as "Cry Freedom" (which, incredibly, also had Denzel!) and gives us too much of the men trying to help and not enough of the man himself. It's still excellently done and worth watching, many times more realistic about crime and punishment than many other movies of the same stripe.

Rating:
Summary: DENZEL WAS ROBBED!
Review: Denzel Washington was robbed of the Academy Award for Best Actor. Kevin Spacey performance (American Beauty) 'pales' this superb artistry depicting the endurance and growth of the man known as "The Hurricane."

Rating:
Summary: Powerhouse Performance, but Inferior Storytelling
Review: Denzel Washington turns in another powerful and intense performance as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. He is so easy to empathize with, no matter what role he is in. He serves this role aptly as well.

However, I wish he would chose his material better. This screenplay needed reworking before it was made into a film. I'm sure that the life of Rubin Carter is compelling and needed little embellishment. But the embellishment and dramatization that was done, was done poorly. The role of Sargeant Della Pesca put a real damper on this movie for me. His motives for persecuting Rubin Carter are not explained in a believeable way. The whole villainy of this one man, as opposed to, for example, a pervasive racism of the local police force, just didn't wash. And we don't learn enough about Rubin Carter before he was imprisoned, except for his boxing. The events leading to Rubin Carter's wrongful imprisonment are just not developed enough.

But the movie is worth seeing for Denzel Washington's performance and his relationship with the teenager Lesra Martin. That is where The Hurricane really shines.

I loved Denzel Washington in Malcolm X, Mo' Better Blues, Much Ado About Nothing, and Glory. I'd love to see him reteam with Spike Lee. He's a better screenwriter.