Hurricane Carter

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington) was a prize fighter. In 1966, he was arrested and convicted for a mass shooting at a bar in Paterson, New Jersey. Vindictive police detective Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya) has been after him since he was 11. With falsified evidence and rampant racism, Carter and his friend get locked up for 3 life terms. He sets about writing his biography which is eventually published. Then 7 years later in Toronto, student Lesra (Vicellous Reon Shannon) finds his biography in a pile of used books. He's a poor student from Brooklyn who is given a chance to study in Canada. With the biography, he starts a long journey to get Carter's release and his good name back with the help of his mentors Lisa (Deborah Kara Unger), Sam (Liev Schreiber) and Terry (John Hannah).

It's a very standard biopic from Norman Jewison. Carter's story is never in doubt. Most people would know the ending to the movie. So the tension is not that high. The investigation isn't that exciting. It's no John Grisham novel. However there is a compelling story, and a very compelling performance from Denzel Washington. He is exceptional in this as in many of his performances. There is also a nice side story of a young man who finds purpose in life.

15 years after The Hurricane came out Rubin Carter passed away still quite the symbol of what can happen when a malignant criminal justice system puts a target on your back and is determined to nail you. The Hurricane became his nickname in the boxing arena given him for the speed and accuracy of the deadly attack in the ring. He was forever Rubin Hurricane Carter even after he fought his last fight.

After his boxing career had wound down he and a friend were picked up in his home town of Patterson, New Jersey because they vaguely resembled two men who had shot up and robbed a bar and killed 3 people. On some flimsy evidence and some evidence withheld Carter and the other man went to jail and probably escaped the death penalty because it wasn't being used at the time.

Besides the background events The Hurricane mostly focuses on the events of Carter trying to clear himself and the young kid who reads the book Carter wrote while he was in prison. The best scenes in the film are Vicellous Shannon as young Lezra and Denzel Washington as Carter.

The Hurricane brought Denzel Washington one of his Oscar nominations and he will keep you riveted on the screen with his intensity. Occasionally Washington boils over, but it's the slow simmering tension he conveys as Carter that really keeps you watching. His scenes with Shannon are a great relief for him as in this kid he meets someone who believes his story and gets what he's about.

Besides Washington and Shannon, performances to watch out for are Rod Steiger as Judge Sarokin who is the federal judge who decides Carter's fate and Dan Hedaya as the incredibly vicious and racist police lieutenant who made incarcerating Carter a life's obsession.

The real Rubin Carter could not have had his story better told than be Denzel Washington in The Hurricane.

I wasn't going to comment, but after reading some of the negative comments, I felt I must. I "waited for the video" for this movie because a movie about boxing didn't seem interesting. But that's just the thing. It's not about boxing. So if you're thinking you're going to see Raging Bull, you're not. There are a few boxing scenes, but they only serve to move the story along.

I have seen this movie more than once. The first time I was touched by the underlying theme of the movie, which was in my opinion, love conquering hate and injustice. Then I watched it again. I realized Denzel did a superb job. It WAS NOT a "typical Denzel role." He convincingly played Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, raised full of hate for and distrust of white people. When he goes to prison for the murder, he does an excellent performance showing the different personalities in his head, as well as showing how his inner spiritual journey transformed him. Any good movie shows the hero growing and changing. And Denzel again does this well towards the end of the movie, after befriending Lazarus and the Canadians. My favorite line which to me sums up the entire movie is when they're waiting to hear the judge's verdict and Rubin tells Lazarus, "Hate got me in here. But love's gonna bust me out."

I don't know much about the real Rubin Carter or the details of the case. What I found compelling about the movie was the fact that some people - be they white or black - can harbor such hatred for another person (I'm referring to Della Pesca's hatred toward Rubin). Another thing that got me was the friendship and love between Rubin and Lesra and the whole message of examining the higher principle of truth for which the law was meant to serve. It's just one of those movies that makes you think. Yeah, some of the writing is "just OK" in places, but the theme of the movie is wonderful and I think Denzel gave an Oscar worthy performance.

I gave this a 9 out of 10.

Framed by a white cop for a murder he didn't commit, boxer Ruben 'Hurricane' Carter tries to free himself from the constrains of his cell mentally by studying, picking over his case and writing his autobiography. Seven years later, Carter is still in prison with appeal after appeal being turned down, but his book has found its way into the hands a young student, Lesra who is inspired to study by the lessons in his book. As the two get to know one another through letters and meetings, Lesra and his teachers devote themselves to getting Carter freedom through a successful appeal.

Despite the fact that the basics of the story is interesting and compelling, this film only manages to be reasonable entertaining rather than compelling because it never really goes deeper than the basics. The story of a man wrongfully imprisoning and yet, somehow, overcoming that is going to be worth a look as it offers enough human interest for me to give it a try, but the problem here is that the film will give you a very basic look at the story and this basic feel will stop you getting involved in the story and maybe even make you wonder how much of it has been simplified down. Enough elements of the film remain interesting to cover this gap though and the character of Carter is interesting and semi-inspiring as he is portrayed here; I say 'as portrayed here' because I do not know how real this person I have seen here is. Part of the problem may be Jewison himself as his background is of a time where things could be as simple as, literally, black and white – but he brings that view to this movie and the story (and even the truth) appear to suffer as a result.

In Jewison's world there is no complex issues, no legal technicalities, no nothing – there is only a good black man who has been framed by bitter, racist cops even though everything points to his innocence; and boy, does Jewison spread it on thick! We trace Paterson's hatred of Carter all the way back to childhood and a scene where he comments on Carter's boxing fame just so we are totally clear that he wanted Carter more than anything! It's a real shame because the truth must be more interesting than this, although I imagine a lot more complex and for the film to just present such a clear cut and simplistic view of real life events not only insults the intelligence of the audience, it also does a disservice to the real life events it represents.

The cast are a big reason most of the film is interesting, or rather Denzel is a big reason it works. How close his Carter is to the real Carter is anyone's guess but his dialogue and his performance are both great. Washington made me believe this man's inner struggle by looks, words, tone of voice – this is the performance he deserved his Oscar for, not the more showy (and less controversial) one in Training Day. Shannon is also good even if he is far from central to the film. Unger, Schreiber and Hannah have clearly been told to play 'non-threatening white people' and they are all about as bland as a collection of people as I have seen. There is no meat on their characters and, as a result the three just play them very simple, basic and far too 'nice' to be believable; I'm not suggesting we have more detail on their lives but there was nothing to them whatsoever – a real problem when they are asked to carry some scenes near the end by themselves. Hedaya gets paid with a lazy 'racist cop' role that he can do nothing with, while Brown is OK in a return to his Shawshank role. Pastore, Steiger, Yulin and Paymer all add the feeling of depth in minor roles but really this is Washington's film and he is a big reason I found it entertaining.

Overall this was potentially an interesting, compelling and emotional film based on an intriguing real life story of injustice. However the script simplifies the story and characters to the point of being almost a version for people in a rush or without the intelligence to understand more. I cannot understand why the film just brushed past areas that would have made it more interesting (albeit more morally complex) and Jewison is to blame for a film that is very black and white in the portrayal of circumstances and its characters. Washington's performance and well written dialogue makes the film worth seeing but I was surprised by the film's ability to take an interesting and compelling story and simplify it to the point of lacking any real punch (sorry – he starts with a pun and he ends with a pun!). Watch once but there are much better examples of the genre and much better sources for hearing Carter's story.

I am not going to get into details regarding how true an account this is or not. I have read a lot that seems to indicate he was guilty and others that he was innocent, both accounts seeing to contradict themselves. I guess we may never really know, but as someone who believes that racism infects a lot of society including organisations like Sporting bodies and the police I can well believe that being black would not guarantee a fair trial. However I also find it hard to believe that Mr Carter was as peaceful a person as depicted in this film. But this is down to the way the film was written and directed and in no way detracts from a truly remarkable piece of acting by Mr Denzel Washington. It seems in every part he plays, you believe that he IS that character and this film was no exception. In the boxing scenes or the prison scenes and in every scene you believe that you are watching Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter. A truly outstanding performance.