The Hurricane
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Movie Reviews of The Hurricane
Movie Review: The defining performance of Mr. Washington's career; brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
In the movie DISCLOSURE, with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore (based on the Michael Crichton screenplay), a high-powered, very ambitious and sexually potent woman sexually harasses Michael Douglas in a software company. The resulting chaos this causes in his personal and professional life forces him to accept the irony of his circumstance--him, a man, being harassed by a superior woman--and take her to court, or in this case, arbitration, to save his job. So much controversy was engendered by the plot of this movie and its relationship to the serious issue of sexual harassment (then a fairly new one) that most people ranting on either side about DISCLOSURE's true social significance forgot the actual plot of the movie, and as such, missed its real message: Demi Moore's character was brought to the software company Douglas' character worked for for the sole purpose of getting rid of him in the first place, such that a pretty immoral and essentially illegal business transaction could go through, making the principal stockholders rich. The movie actually begins where the famous sexual harassment subplot ends. Like ERIN BROKOVICH or WALL STREET, DISCLOSURE was not about sex and power, but really a window to the architecture and life-destroying immorality of corporate greed in its entirety.
I was slightly put off by some of the publicity surrounding the treatment of the subject matter that is the life of boxer Reuben Carter before this movie came out years ago. But I am still perplexed to the point of amused as to why everyone still rants about every aspect of the film's subject matter but not the actual film itself. Just as people still talk about DISCLOSURE as a sexual harassment irony movie, missing the actual point Michael Crichton was making about the business world, dissenting reviewers have missed the fact that it was a rival movie company's publicity staff who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to see to it that all this historical controversy would make it to the news in time to prevent this movie from winning the many Oscars it probably would have won, without the stink surrounding it. The Oscars have so much money at stake for the studios that could win one for their movie they are almost as political as Washington, D.C. It wasn't the Smithsonian or Cornel West or Mike Wallace or CNN that broke this story, *it was the corporate greed of Hollywood, Inc. itself, doing so as part of a ruthless and pretty immoral business deal against a competing movie studio*. The very debate of Reuben Carter's actual historicity is as much a symbolically absurd morality play on the corporate greed of Hollywood (and the prevailing ignorance of our culture) as the plot of the movie is about the triumph of the human spirit.
This whole topic warrants mentioning only because it is, to this day, the secret architect of the opinions Norman Jewison's treatment of Hurricane Carter --above and beyond the overall message and artistic brilliance of the film as a whole--that is reflected in so many people's opinion of the film. History itself, if we're going to be honest, is a form of elitist narcisstic mythology more often than not (see the work of Howard Zinn [A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES], Noam Chomsky [UNDERSTANDING POWER], Edward Said [ORIENTALISM], Edward Hermann [THE TERRORIST INDUSTRY], Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed [WAR ON FREEDOM], Gore Vidal [BURR; LINCOLN; PERPETUAL WAR], et. al). The degree to which ALL history is a lie can be debated until the Exedrin is passed around like cocaine at a suburban garden party; it has little to no bearing on the mythic structure and relevant artistry of great filmmaking--striking at the heart of the actual purpose of history in the first place.
Regarding the possible racist unconscious underlying Hurricane Carter's quasi-historical portrayal: by the same token, virtually every movie made in Hollywood before 1978 and God knows how many afterwards, from BIRTH OF A NATION to GONE WITH THE WIND to DRIVING MISS DAISY to FRIDAY AFTER NEXT and beyond, shows the African-American community in such an absurdly one-dimensional and offensively inaccurate light that if we commented only on the historical/social inaccuracies inherent in the depicted subject matter we'd never know what the art form of film actually consists of, let alone what represents it well. MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988), for example, so enraged Chaney's family members (of the Shwerner, Goodman and Chaney civil rights activists) that they held many a lecture in many a college regarding its blatant historical inaccuracies; historical inaccuracies obviously designed to whitewash history such that the film would be more palatable to the dominant culture of the Reagan Era 80s (as subtle racist apologia usually attracts liberal white audience for civil rights films and did so quite well during his administration). Yet no one, however, not even them, argued that Gene Hackman and Willem Defoe weren't incredible in it, and probably deserved Oscars nominations for their portrayals.
What made me see THE HURRICANE is why everyone should see it. Minor flaws notwithstanding (in construction, not research), director Norman Jewison creates a completely magnificent film. And the incomparable Denzel Washington gives what is undoubtedly the greatest performance of his career. From the very first moment the screen is filled with an image of Denzel as the boxer, you have no choice but to believe him and believe in him. Even the downright eerie way Washington completely became Malcolm X in Spike Lee's masterpiece is SURPASSED by the degree to which he took on and magnified the soul of Rueben Carter. I've seen most of Marlon Brando's work; I've seen James Dean's; I've seen the best of de Niro. I have never seen acting like this before, ever. The Oscar given to Denzel for his essentially phoned-in performance in TRAINING DAY a year later was as a "Sorry we screwed you over THE HURRICANE" Oscar.
See this film and believe in the nobility of the human spirit again.
Movie Review: Asking First-Order Questions
Summary: 5 Stars
The idea that a man would be strong enough to endure over 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit is ... what can one say ... remarkable.
The other man arrested the night of the murders, John Artis, spent the same amount of time in prison as Carter. In the voiceover commentary, director Norman Jewison points out that the authorities would periodically take John Artis to his home and tell him that all he had to do was sign a piece of paper stating that Ruben Carter commited the murders, and he would be set free. Artis refused; the simple reason being that neither one of them committed the crime. As Ruben Carter put it: "John Artis is my hero."
As much as I like this movie and as much as I would recommend that as many people as possible see it, the movie gives the impression that the railroading of Ruben Carter was rooted in a personal vendetta Patterson detective Vincetn Della had against Ruben Carter. Not so. Ruben Carter's case was not rooted in a personal vendetta, a judicial misstep or a "flaw" in the political system. It was, rather a systematic, statewide attempt on the part of a *host* of New Jersey authorities to frame an innocent black man; and to frame him because of his radical political views.
Please Note: The United States was *founded* on radical political views.
Ruben Carter was far from the only political prisoner in the United States in the 1960s. U.S. jails were, and are, full of political prisoners, given that the United States government was and still is rooted in racial and economic injustice.
Corrupt police, corrupt judges and corrupt politicians in the 1960s were given all kinds of signals from the ruling class that their fervor in maintaining "law and order" would grant them unconstitutional authority in applying and interpreting the law.
Put another way: the tone established by those in power -- starting at the top with law and order, unindicted co-conspirator Richard Nixon -- "enabled" corrupt, vigilante officials to take the law into their own hands; even if their arbitrary, extralegal exercise of power meant innocents were convicted.
Maintaining law and order, preserving "the system" were and are all that matter to the ruling elite.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Fre Hampton, Medgar Evers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Louis Allen, Addie Mae Collins, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, Mack Charles Parker, Emmett Till, the four children who died on a Sunday morning in Birmingham, Alabama, and countless of other unknowns who were either lynched, imprisoned or murdered in cold blood -- these were political imprionments and political "hits."
-- Consider how "justice" was meted out to the men who killed the three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964 (Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman).
-- Consider Mayor Richard Daley's "shot to kill" order just before the antiwar marchers convened in Chicago in 1968 for the Democratic National Convention.
-- Consider the Kerner Commission's characterization of what took place in the streets of Chicago during that 1968 Democratic Convention -- they described it as a "police riot."
-- Consider the attitude of the chief law enforcement officer, J. Edgar Hoover, toward Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in general.
-- Consider the enabling message of people like *Governor* Orville Faubus, *Sheriff* Bull Conner, *Governor* George Wallace, "Governor* Lester Maddox, et al to the corrupt sheriffs, judges, police and politicians who went out of their way to punish "uppity blacks."
So it's not just one corrupt Patterson detective we're talking about; we're talking about the corruption of entire social, political and economic system -- a system that wanted to not just imprison Ruben Carter but to kill his political beliefs and kill the spirit that generated those beliefs.
Ruben "Hurricane" Carter is an extraordinary person; extraordinary to have endured what he endured. And he is celebrated for his endurance and for his courage. But how many countless people are there -- unsung, unheard of -- who were killed, railroaded and/or imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit, who *didn't* survive as Ruben Carter survived?
Quoting from a review by J. Cooper:
"The film implies that the frame-up of Carter and Artis was unique
--an aberration of justice. But as Carter was well aware in 1967, the state was out to crush the rising opposition simmering in the urban ghettos, and he was a prime target. He was outspoken, bold and had spent much of his youth in a correctional facility. ...
"He was also an outspoken critic of racial prejudice, and a supporter of the civil rights movement in the US from the early 1960s. ...
"The political issues that agitated him and about which he felt passionate are left out of the film. ...
"... the intolerable conditions of ghetto life. These were the conditions that had formed young Rubin Carter: run-down apartments, unemployment over 20 percent, poor schools and little future for youth. ...
"State forces were mobilized against the growing (civil right and antiwar) movement(s) through open police provocations, frame-ups and murders. ... This is the social background to the Carter and Artis case that is barely touched on by the film. The audience is left to conclude that it was one bad cop and one angry black man locked in battle. ...
"... the "guardian angel" jailer who helps Carter retain his dignity by bending the rules for him ... reinforces the artificial 'balance' that the filmmakers bring to the story in their attempt to demonstrate that ultimately the American Justice System "can work.'"
Movie Review: Moving and inspired!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Hurricane" comes along at the end of a year when movies seemed to be dwindling, and basically saves the day for those looking for an excellent film full of insight, vision, and emotion. It tells a harrowing story that seems to get right to the core of our own spirit and enlighten us when it is all over and done with. The length may be a bit of a test on patience for some, but those willing to stick through it will be tremendously satisfied by the powerful lead and supporting performances, which make up for whatever problems you may have with it. The film tells the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who rose to boxing fame in the 1960's and was wrongly convicted of murder in 1967. The film is all told through his point of view, which gives it a much more personal feeling. Most of the beginning section is composed of flashbacks to his childhood and boxing bouts, moving on in years to his encounter with a young woman and their marriage. One night in a local bar, innocent people are killed, and Rubin and his friend are charged with the murders. While he is in prison, Carter, becomes defiant, refusing to wear the clothes given him by the guards, yet he never flinches when he is punished, and takes his sentence like a true hero.
All of this is played to stunning and poignant perfection by Denzel Washington, in one of the best performances of his career. By the end of the movie, he has gone through so much, caused so many people to take a stand in their life, given so much life to the character that we are left with nothing but true respect for his work here. He plays the subject matter with astute authenticity, while adding his own charms and charisma to the part as well. I found myself cheering him on in certain moments, and he is one of the characters that I've cared for most in a movie.
As the story progresses into its second half, a young boy by the name of Lezra is introduced. He is living with three Canadians in Toronto, yet it is never stated exactly what they are doing. There is a scene that involves Lezra's parents, but even from that, the true motives of the group is never revealed. Not that this is a hindering factor. Lezra comes across Carter's autobiography in a used book sale, and immediately becomes entranced by the story of Carter's life. He shares his feelings with the Canadians, even writes to Carter, and after a period of exchanging letters, Lezra ventures to Trenton State Prison to visit him.
There is a father-son motif here, one that keeps the heart of the movie moving for the final third. Lezra does have a father, yes, but seeing him and Rubin Carter together gives the feeling that he could get along and communicate a lot easier with Carter than his own father. In fact, in the prison, Carter and Lezra have their photo taken, and the photographer mistakes them for father and son. This relationship is built strongly because of Lezra's will to find out the truth behind Carter's arrest and imprisonment, and bring that truth to light. The Canadians help him with this quest, moving to New Jersey in eye view of the prison, where they dig deeper into the archives and talk with people, including Carter's lawyers.
There is a great deal of emotion and heart in this story, and even though it is fictionalized, it still tells a compelling narrative. You can't expect every nuance of the plot to be absolutely accurate in terms of what happened in history; the movies never work like that. The best that you can hope for is that they capture the true heart and nature of the events, and that is what "The Hurricane" does here. The story is not solely about a man's imprisonment for murder, but more about his will to survive and make it through a gruesome ordeal. It is also about hope, the hope of one person who envisions helping to free another person of his confines. All of this is captured beautifully and with intense emotion.
The acting ability leaves nothing to be desired here. Denzel does an excellent job, and matches that of his acting in "Malcom X." Lezra is played by Vicellous Reon Shannon, who gives a powerhouse performance with his strength and emotion. The role fits him perfectly, and he plays so well the emotions of a growing teenage boy who is trying to learn about a world full of social hatred and racial segregation. John Hannah, Deborah Unger, and Liev Schreiber portray the three Canadians, who each become fascinated by Carter's story in their own way. These characters are meant to act as a source of comfort for Lezra and inspiration for both he and Carter, while Carter acts as an inspiration for everyone, and they play their parts well.
It is not everyday that a movie as emotional and fascinating as this comes along, nor is it very often that we get such powerful acting and terrific plot together in the same movie. Norman Jewison's direction of this film is stellar and rich in supplying emotion, feeling, themes of redemption and reality, and human survival. Carter will always be remembered by those who see this movie, not because of his ordeal, but because of his strength and ability to live through it.
Movie Review: The Hurricane: A failed docudrama but a successful movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter had been a nonstop hurricane in the racist world of white police, disrupting the white police for more than 20 years. The Hurricane, directed by Norman Jewison in 1999, was a well made docudrama that was based on Carter's autobiography, 'The 16th Round', which was published in 1974. It was also based upon a book, 'Lazarus and the Hurricane', written by Chaiton and Swinton's, Carter's Canadian friends, published in 1991. This film, or a docudrama, tells the story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, an African-American middle-weight boxer. Rubin Carter spent quite a troubled youth, mostly in prison, but he made it through to become a champion. However, Rubin Carter was accused of a murder, in 1966, and was convicted to three life prison terms. He tried very hard to prove his innocence, but his efforts were no good for 19 years. In November 8, 1985, Rubin Carter had another trial and finally won with the help of an African American boy and his Canadian friends, who read the autobiography written by Carter.
The moive, Hurricane, is a successful Hollywood film. The different scenes of the movies combine together and tells a great story of an unfortunate black boxer. However, the movie does not do a good job on accurately conveying the truth of the Rubin Carter case. It misses some important information of the case and it does not present other cases, which might have connections with the Rubin Carter case, that has also involved racism.
The movie is very well made. Rubin Carter is played by Denzel Washington, and he delivers Carter to the audience in a way that helps the audience to feel the character. This is shown especially in a scene where Carter is put in a cell for 90 days after he gets arrested as a 1966 murder. Denzel Washington performs Carter in three different moods, including anger, fear, and hopelessness. The movie itself is hightly praiseworthy with actors' realistic and excellent acting.
The movie goes back and forth in time. The very first scene is about boxing championship tournament that happened in 1963. Then it shows the scene in Trenton State Prison in 1973 with Carter being mad at the news of the police's search of his cell without particular reasons. The scene changes between these two events twice and then comes the key incident of the movie, which is the murder at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey. This raises the audience an interest of what happens to the main character, since it requires the audience to see the whole movie to get a sense of what the beginning scenes are all about.
The movie does not show all of Carter's early lives through himself but through another person named Lesra, an African American boy studying in Canada. Lesra reads Carter's autobiography and decides to meet Carter in prison. Carter's early life, including the reason why he goes to the Jamesburg State Home for Boys as a 12 year-old boy, his love life, and his life as a boxer, is shown as flashbacks with Denzel Washington's narrations. This is a time saving technique, because two different stories are told at the same time, the story of Carter and Lesra. It also shows the difference between Lesra and Rubin effectively; Rubin's life is full of hardships and troubles, but Lesra has a gifted life as an African American in Canada.
The movie does not have enough information of Rubin Carter case. The name, Leroy Holloway, is never mentioned in the movie, but he is considered as a person to be deeply related to the case. He was an African American owner of the Waltz Inn in Paterson. He was murdered by a white man, who had sold the Walztz Inn to Holloway, came to Holloway and murdered him because Holloway had been behind his payments. This incident only happened eight hours before the murder at 2:30 a.m. that Rubin Carter was wrongly accused of. The police assumed that it was hightly possible that the black men might had committed the second murder for the revenge.
The movie does not show the whilte police's clear reasons for Carter's arrest, but rather shows the police's act as racist. In actual history, the police had enough evidence to support their arrest of Rubin. They not only faked some of the testimony, but also found some weapons, which looked similar to the actual weapons that were used in the murder, in Rubin's car.
Although the film is not perfect as a docudrama, it is a successful Hollywood movie. The movie uses the historical facts well enough to let the audience not being aware of the incident's historical accuracy. All the scenes and the acting blend very well to produce a one great piece of art. The Hurricane could have been a great docudrama, but its failure as a docudrama makes it a praiseworthy film.
Movie Review: A powerful account of injustice and long-delayed redemption
Summary: 5 Stars
Rubin Carter was wrongfully imprisoned before I was even born, and I'm sure I am one of many who first learned of his shocking case through the telling words of Bob Dylan's song "Hurricane." Dylan was one of many who believed in Carter's innocence and helped raise awareness of the gross injustice he suffered at the hands of the justice system in New Jersey. I do not know all of the facts in the actual case, but I am aware of the fact that this film does not follow the history of events exactly - it's no secret, as a disclaimer of such appears at the beginning of the movie. This is not a documentary; it's a moving tale of prejudice, corruption, and hatred ultimately defeated by love, truth, and honor; as such, it captures the heart and spirit of Carter's tragic story in the most powerful of ways.
You could call what happened to Rubin Carter a travesty of justice, yet even this term barely begins to explain Carter's plight. He was tried and convicted of the murder of three individuals in a New Jersey bar in 1967 for two reasons: he was black and he was successful. He and a fan were heading home in a white car when they were pulled over, hauled over to a murder scene they knew nothing about and then to the hospital to see if anyone could identify them as the murderers - which no one did. This did not stop the lead detective from arresting and trying them for murder - by suppressing evidence and forging documents, not to mention engineering the false testimony of quite impeachable witnesses, the police and prosecutors got their conviction. Rubin Carter's boxing career was over, and this man - who could have been the middle-weight champion of the world - found himself looking at three life sentences for a crime he did not commit.
Much of this film examines Carter's response to the crushing weight of prison and the repeated denials of his appeals over two decades (somewhat strangely, it mentions but does not dramatize the second trial he managed to get - and lose). Along the way, we flash back to the important events of Carter's childhood and early adulthood - including some of his overpowering victories in the ring. Another story converges with Carter's as the movie progresses, though. A young man from Brooklyn, who has been taken under the wing of three working partners in Toronto - who teach him to read and help him prepare for the college education he longs to have - buys Carter's autobiography at a used book sale - it's the first book he has ever bought. Reading Carter's story, young Lesra Martin feels a close connection to the man and decides to write him a letter. A friendship emerges between Carter and Martin, and eventually Martin's Toronto friends and teachers all risk their careers if not their very lives to help Carter win his release from prison. Even though you know how the story turns out, the final scenes are wondrous moments of cinematic art full of raw emotional power.
This movie does run a little long, coming in at just under two and a half hours, but you'll be so absorbed by the story you won't even realize how much time passes. Denzel Washington does a remarkable job as Ruben Carter, and the supporting cast is stellar as well. Hurricane affects you across the whole range of emotions: hatred for the crooked cops and prosecutors, disgust with those who not only feel racism but use it as a weapon to subvert justice and ruin a man, growing admiration for Carter as he deals with year upon year of incarceration, deep respect for those who risk their own livelihoods in order to open the eyes of Lady Justice, and the moving joy of hope fulfilled and the eventual triumph of good over evil. The film may not be historically accurate in all its details, but Hurricane is about as real as it gets. This is just an extraordinary motion picture.