The Hurricane
Film Critique of “The Hurricane”
David Hickox
ENG 225
Jared Kline
August 20, 2012
Film Critique of “The Hurricane” The movie, “The Hurricane” premiered in 1999 starring Denzel Washington and was directed by Jason Jewison. This film is based on a true story of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. This film is based on a biography titled “Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter” that was written by James S. Hirsch (Jones, 2000). The story starts in the mid 60’s when racial prejudice was still very high, and many where looking to keep the black man “in his place”, including a corrupt police lieutenant (Dan Hedaya) that had disliked Ruben for many years and had arrested him twice before. The story is a drama that unfolds in chronological order, but jumps back and forth to show how “Hurricane” remembers things, primarily during his stay in Trenton State Prison (where he is the majority of the movie), and to the 1980’s when Lesra Martin, a Brooklyn teenager (Vicellous Shannon) living in Canada reads an autobiography called The 16th Round and decides he wants to help the “Hurricane.” A question that comes to mind is, how does an innocent person survive 20 years in prison dealing with confinement, physical deprivation, the rage of other inmates and the anger he hold for this injustice that at times leads to great despair. As “The Hurricane” shows, there is really no one way to do this. At times he had to cut himself off from the possibility and hope of getting out. At other times he had grab onto the hope and dream that freedom was possible, by connecting with people that wanted to help and encouraged him to keep fighting for what is right. The selection of Denzel Washington as the lead actor and star and protagonist could not have been better. Denzel uses his professional acting abilities to draw the audience in with his tremendous dedication to portraying himself as Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, a middle weight boxing contender that is unjustly imprisoned for
David Hickox
ENG 225
Jared Kline
August 20, 2012
Film Critique of “The Hurricane” The movie, “The Hurricane” premiered in 1999 starring Denzel Washington and was directed by Jason Jewison. This film is based on a true story of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. This film is based on a biography titled “Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter” that was written by James S. Hirsch (Jones, 2000). The story starts in the mid 60’s when racial prejudice was still very high, and many where looking to keep the black man “in his place”, including a corrupt police lieutenant (Dan Hedaya) that had disliked Ruben for many years and had arrested him twice before. The story is a drama that unfolds in chronological order, but jumps back and forth to show how “Hurricane” remembers things, primarily during his stay in Trenton State Prison (where he is the majority of the movie), and to the 1980’s when Lesra Martin, a Brooklyn teenager (Vicellous Shannon) living in Canada reads an autobiography called The 16th Round and decides he wants to help the “Hurricane.” A question that comes to mind is, how does an innocent person survive 20 years in prison dealing with confinement, physical deprivation, the rage of other inmates and the anger he hold for this injustice that at times leads to great despair. As “The Hurricane” shows, there is really no one way to do this. At times he had to cut himself off from the possibility and hope of getting out. At other times he had grab onto the hope and dream that freedom was possible, by connecting with people that wanted to help and encouraged him to keep fighting for what is right. The selection of Denzel Washington as the lead actor and star and protagonist could not have been better. Denzel uses his professional acting abilities to draw the audience in with his tremendous dedication to portraying himself as Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, a middle weight boxing contender that is unjustly imprisoned for
References: Berardinelli, J. (n.a.). “Hurricane, The”, Reelviews movie review. Retrieved from http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=259 Goodykoontz, B. and Jacobs, P.J. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education Inc., Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG225.11.2 Jones, M. (2000, January 7). “Hurricane: The miraculous journey of Rubin Carter” by James S. Hirsch. Salon Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2000/01/07/hirsch/