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The Hurricane, 1999, 146 minutes, Rated R
By Ramona Prioleau
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Put up your dukes and guard your grill!!! Denzel delivers a left hook, an
uppercut and a body blow in his "take-no-prisoners" portrayal of Rubin
"Hurricane" Carter. You 'll have to go back to 1992's Malcolm X to find a more
enthralling and masterful performance by Washington. His physical transformation as the a
lean, mean, fighting machine is heightened by the depths of anger, joy and despair that
Washington is gifted at conveying with the smoldering of his eyes, the slight twitching of
his brow or the shifting of his lithe frame.
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Universal Pictures
Denzel Washington
as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter |
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Universal Pictures
Carter
Looking Mean and Impressive
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Denzel is at his finest in a sequence
where Carter is thrown in "the hole" for refusing to don the stripes of a guilty
man. During his 90-day confinement in solitary, Washington's Carter takes a psychological
journey from the peak of arrogance, to the valley of despair and finds solace on the
plateau of defiant compromise.
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The Hurricane takes you on Carter's journey through the criminal injustice system
as he attempts to overturn his wrongful conviction in 1966 New Jersey for three murders.
In the process, the film briefly chronicles Carter's rise in the boxing world, the forces
that hasten his demise and his ultimate exoneration.
The whole truth and nothing but the truth
Well, not exactly. In the interest of spinning a compelling Hollywood narrative, the
filmmakers play fast and loose with certain facts surrounding the Carter saga - details
are simplified and omitted and characters are fabricated (Lt. Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya)),
marginalized (Carter's defense attorneys and his friends and family) and over-dramatized
(the Canadians (Liev Schreiber, Deborah Unger and John Hannah)). * But hey, the film
doesn't profess to be a documentary and the filmmakers tell you the flick is merely based
on a true story. What is undeniably true, is that two men (Carter and John
Artis) were sentenced to serve three life sentences for crimes they didn't commit and the
struggle to overturn the convictions took nearly two decades.
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To Fight, to Struggle, To Live
That said, The Hurricane focuses on the bond that develops between Carter and a troubled
youth (Lesra Martin (Vicellous Shannon)) who reads Carter's memoirs and is captivated by
Carter's experiences. So moved is Lesra by what he reads, he dispatches a heartwarming
letter to the imprisoned Carter. Lesra's benevolence kindles a friendship that grows to
include Lesra's Canadian caregivers. Ultimately, Lesra and the Canadians move to New
Jersey to assist in Carter's defense.
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Although The Hurricane depicts a
familiar tale of good vs. evil, hope and despair, the filmmakers structure the story to
hold you from the start. With a tumultuous series of flashbacks and flashfowards that
start the film, the filmmakers portray several decades of Carter's experiences, force you
to engage the narrative; and more importantly, cleverly convey the essence of the
hurricane that whips you hither and thither with force and fury.
The Hurricane is a powerful film that
shouldn't be missed. You'll be moved by the story's impact - you'll laugh, cry and cheer!
But in the end, you'll be reminded of a truth that is near and dear - right will
ultimately triumph over might.
Forget must see TV, The Hurricane is a MUST SEE on the big screen.
*See, Selwyn Raab, Separating Truth from Fiction in the Hurricane, N.Y. Times, Dec. 28,
1999, at B1; Rubin Carter, The 16th Round (1974); James S. Hirsch, Hurricane: The Miraculous
Journey of Rubin Carter (2000).
M
January 2000
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