Inspiration storms out of 'The Hurricane'
By Tam Notosusanto
JAKARTA (JP): Contrary to what the print ads and trailers may lead you to believe, The Hurricane isn't really a movie about boxing and professional boxers. Yes, there are fight scenes, presented in stark black-and-white, which very much resemble the ones in Raging Bull, but those of you who are not thrilled by the prospect of watching another boxing movie should not run away just yet.
The Hurricane is actually more In the Name of the Father than Rocky. Just like Jim Sheridan's 1993 Irish prison movie, this film is based on a true story of a man who is unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Rubin Carter is that man, a New Jersey prizefighter who, one night in 1966, was arrested along with another black man for the fatal shooting of three people in a Paterson, New Jersey bar. This film details his two-decade-long plight, and of his struggle to clear his name and be released from prison.
There is no surprise ending waiting at the conclusion of the film, since we have seen Rubin Carter walking freely from one talk show to another with the man who portrays him, Denzel Washington. Carter was also at Washington's side when the actor received a Golden Globe Award for his performance in this movie last January. So, it isn't hard to predict the emotional climax with everyone in tears, hugging as the fateful verdict is read.
Given all that, you may ask, what significance does this film still carry?
The answer -- "a huge amount". After all, this film is about Rubin Carter, a boxer who earns the nickname The Hurricane, a man whose undying indignation and perseverance have helped him survive twenty years of life in hell. He's the man given a mythic stature by Bob Dylan's folk song (which is put to great use in this movie) and whose predicament has sparked a nation-wide campaign for his release, although one that didn't prevail.
What this movie does is give some flesh to the mythological creature that is Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, and to provide a glimpse into the man's soul. And Washington delivers that glimpse, captivating us with a soulful interpretation of Carter's persona: a reserved, peaceful man on the surface with blazing, undefeated energy beneath.
Those who are familiar with all the brouhaha surrounding the outcry for the man's freedom in the 1960s are reminded that Carter had to wait some time for his eventual triumph.
Writer-producer Armyan Bernstein, who co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Gordon, found great material in Carter's autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, which they adapted for the film.
They also were able to craft an arresting story with help from a second book called Lazarus and the Hurricane, by Terry Swinton and Sam Chaiton, a story that elevates the film to a level above average bio-pics.
Weaving the material from the two books, the screenwriters not only present us with Carter's personal struggle and triumph, but also his relationship with an African-American teenager named Lesra Martin (played by Vicellous Reon Shannon) who, inspired by Carter's book, manages to persuade his social worker guardians to mount a full-scale legal attempt to release Carter from jail.
Veteran film director Norman Jewison is just the right man to tackle this picture, having made in his 40-year career at least two films dealing with race-related issues -- A Soldier's Story (which also stars Washington) and the Oscar-winning In the Heat of the Night. These films display the director's commendable sensibility in presenting the issue through poignant, engaging stories.
The Hurricane also shows that racism cuts deep, and can cost an innocent person twenty years of his life. But the film, through Lesra and Carter, also reflects on the empowerment of Black America, and how their brotherhood can get them through over impossible odds.
Just like any other film based on true events, The Hurricane has been criticized for tweaking the facts and misrepresenting some characters. A degree of disdain has been expressed over the fact that this film, directed by a Canadian filmmaker, is highlights the roles of the dedicated social workers who helped free Carter (played by Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber and John Hannah), who are all Canadians. And they managed to pull something off that a nationwide American campaign supported by the likes of Muhammad Ali and Ellen Burstyn (featured in this film in documentary clips) weren't able to do: get Carter out of jail.
Wiser moviegoers of course know that accuracy is the least they can expect from a feature film. What's most important is how the film captures the essence of the story and translates that into some enriching hours on the screen. Jewison has absolutely delivered that; driving us through two-and-a-half hours without losing us even once, demonstrating once again what classic moviemaking is all about. Modifying the famous saying of a world legend, if all movies are 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration, this one belongs to that one percent.