The Hurricane
***
Rated on a 4-star
scale
Screening venue: Odeon (Liverpool City Centre)
Released in the UK by Buena Vista International on April 7, 2000; certificate
15; 145 minutes; country of origin USA; aspect ratio 1.85:1
Directed by Norman Jewison; produced by
Armyan Bernstein, Norman Jewison, John Ketcham. Written
by Armyan Bernstein, Dan Gordon; based on the books "The 16th
Round" by Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter and "Lazarus and the Hurricane"
by Sam Chaiton, Terry Swinton. Photographed by Roger
Deakins; edited by Stephen Rivkin.
CAST.....
Denzel Washington..... Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter
Vicellous Reon Shannon..... Lesra Martin
Deborah Kara Unger..... Lisa
Liev Schrieber..... Sam
John Hannah..... Terry
David Paymer..... Myron Beldock
Dan Hedaya..... Vincent Della Pesca
Harris Ylin..... Leon Friedman
Debbi Morgan..... Mae Thelma Carter
We all have talents that mystify other people
-- some folks can work complex equations in their heads, others can run for
miles without getting short of breath, and we all know some show-off who
can cartwheel like there's no tomorrow. I can't do any of that stuff, but
I do know Bob Dylan's eight-minute ballad "Hurricane" off by heart. Impressive,
eh?
The song is the first track on Dylan's 1975 album
"Desire", and tells the story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a black middleweight
boxer from New Jersey who angered intolerant locals with his cocky handling
of success. In 1966, when the authorities saw a chance to frame him for murder,
they jumped at it. "How can the life of such a man be in the palm of some
fool's hand?" Dylan asked, and for quite some time Ellen Burstyn, Muhammad
Ali and a whole host of other celebrities and activists were equally
concerned.
Despite his status as a cause célèbre,
though, it took twenty years for Carter and his co-defendant to be released
from prison. When they were, according to Norman Jewison's film "The
Hurricane", it was largely due to the efforts of a commune of Canadians
and a young boy they were schooling. The kid, Lesra Martin (Viscellous Reon
Shannon), had bought Carter's autobiography for twenty-five cents at a used
book sale. This event changed the course of both his life and that of the
fighter.
Carter (Denzel Washington), as Lesra discovers
from his reading and we learn in the film, had an upbringing heavily influenced
by racial persecution, and vowed to make weapons out of his body and mind.
In prison, his shell grows harder, and he becomes a vessel of mistrust and
hate. "There's no more Rubin Carter," he says in his book. To his wife: "I'm
dead. Move on. Bury me."
Somehow Lesra is able to strike up a correspondence
with him; he does feel alive when he's writing, because he doesn't
have to look at the dehumanising prison walls. The communication develops
into friendship and love, and results in the boy and his surrogate family
dedicating their lives to Carter's appeal. One of the most involving things
about "The Hurricane" is how it demonstrates the power of the written word
-- showing that it can free souls, stimulate emotions and overcome violence
and evil. Another is its portrayal of how Rubin, who had so thoroughly trained
himself to use hatred as a means of survival, earned liberation by having
the courage to feel love and trust.
This is fantastic material -- the kind of thing
we're talking about when we refer to "triumphs of the human spirit". It's
regrettable that Jewison has not presented it with more panache. Gone is
the powerful staccato rhythm of Dylan, and instead we get such ludicrous
dialogue as "You're going down, punk!" and "Jeez... you're having a smoke
for breakfast?" There are tears, speeches behind bars and far too much
sentimental scoring. Dan Hedaya gives a ludicrous performance as a corrupt
cop who lurks in corners grimacing and growling.
The movie is made with such lack of edge that
at times it runs the risk of alienating us, like a made-for-TV weepie. But
the story somehow survives, and remains potent, and that is a testament to
how great a tale it is. Just as 'Hurricane' himself championed over oppressive
forces, so too does his legend transcend a sloppy telling, and remain one
worth knowing.
COPYRIGHT© 2000 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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