THE HURRICANE (Universal Pictures)- Norman (`Moonstruck') Jewison's latest film is a biopic of former boxer Ruben `Hurricane' Carter, who, in the mid-60's, was framed for the murder of three white men and sentenced to life in prison. Carter's story (which Bob Dylan immortalized in his song, `Hurricane') is an important one, and it involves the topic of racial injustice, which Norman Jewison depicted to perfection in films such as `In The Heat Of The Night', `A Soldier's Story' and even `Fiddler On The Roof' . But in order to truly express my disappointment at `The Hurricane', I must quote fellow critic Roger Ebert. `Movies aren't about what they're about,' he says. `They're about how they're about what they're about.' Jewison has the story (and the 2 1/2 hour running time) for an epic, but the script (by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon) and direction are wildly unfocused, making this `Hurricane' a near-disaster.
Luckily, Denzel Washington plays Ruben Carter, and his performance is riveting throughout. Carter's jail scenes are more than watchable, but they do not make up the core of the film. Instead, `The Hurricane' is about Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), a teenager who is so moved by Carter's biography that he starts to visit the convict and attempt to free him. But their friendship is portrayed in such melodramatic fashion that all feeling is lost, and we end up with a dull movie about a boy trying to solve a murder-mystery. Jewison adds a thick layer of cheese on what could have been an intense emotional experience. Not exactly what I expected from the last film to be released this millennium.
Supposedly, Universal Pictures is expecting to garner some Oscars for this `inspirational true story', but Denzel Washington's intense portrayal is the only reason to see this otherwise atrocious excuse for a film. But what do I know? `The Hurricane' was praised at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. There is a good film somewhere at the core of this mess, and with some major editing, maybe the viewers will be able to see it. Norman Jewison may be an experienced filmmaker, but to me, real experience is knowing that films are about more than they're about.(opens December 29 in limited release)
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