"The Hurricane" is a film that attempts to portray Rubin Carter's struggle to prove his innocence and obtain justice. Denzel Washington plays Carter quite convincingly, showing his frustration and determination to clear his name.
The film focuses on Carter's incarceration and how his life changes dramatically after he is accused of a crime he did not commit. It shows the obstacles he faces in his quest for justice, as well as the injustices of the legal system and the racism that surrounds him.
However, despite Denzel Washington's efforts to bring Carter's character to life, the film itself lacks a solid narrative focus. At times it feels somewhat melodramatic and superficial, and fails to delve deeply enough into the more complex aspects of the story.
In addition, although "The Hurricane" is based on real events, questions have been raised about the accuracy of some of the details and the way the facts are presented. Some critics argue that the film omits certain elements that could have given a more complete picture of the situation.
The film's director was Norman Jewison is known for his ability to address social and political issues in his films.
One of the ironic twists of Denzel Washington’s career is that he won his Oscar for Best Actor by playing a villain posing as a hero in Training Day shortly after attempting to win the award by playing a hero being convicted as a villain in The Hurricane, 1999 biopic directed by Norman Jewison.
The film depicts the life and times of Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, middleweight boxer who was convicted of murder in the case which is now considered one of the most notorious cases of racially motivated miscarriages of justice in US history. The plot, partially based on Carter’s autobiographical book, begins with him as 11-year old boy (played by Michael Taylor Jr.) growing up in impoverished black neighbourhood in Patterson, New Jersey. After defending a friend from white paedophile he ends up in juvenile detention and earns lifelong enmity of racist white police detective Della Pesca (played by Dan Hedaya) who is determined to keep him behind bars as long as possible. Carter ultimately escapes juvenile detention and joins US Army where he would learn to box. Back in town as a grown man (played by Washington), he meets future wife Mae Thelma (played by Debbi Morgan), but Della Pesca again puts him in prison. After being released he begins boxing career, win many fights and slowly builds reputation as serious contender for world’s middleweight boxing championship. With wealth and fame come great respect among black community, but also even more enmity by local authorities who can’t forgive his open support for 1960s civil rights movement. In 1966 three white people are murdered in a bar and the only clues about perpetrators are that they were black. Carter and his acquaintance John Artis (played by Garland Whitt) just happen to vaguely fit the description. This is enough for Della Pesca to frame the evidence and the racist white jury finds them guilty. Carter is sentenced to life, but doesn’t accept his fate – he refuses to wear prison uniform, even after being sent to spend months in solitary, and begins to write book about his life. In 1980s this book is by accident read by Lazarus “Lesra” Martin (played by Vicellous Rheon Shannon), 15-year black teenager from Boston, who had been adopted by trio of Canadian philanthropists – Lisa Peters (played by Deborah Kara Unger), Sam Chaiton (played by Lieve Schreiber) and Terry Swinton (played by John Hannah). Lesra, despite being barely literate, is deeply moved by the content of the book and begins corresponding with Carter in prison. Later, he talks his foster parents to move to New Jersey and begin long legal fight to prove Carter’s innocence and set him free. Their own investigation reveals web of corruption and racism within New Jersey police and judiciary, bringing their lives in danger.
Canadian director Norman Jewison seemed like a perfect choice to direct this film, since the script by Armiyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon provides critical treatment of the social issues in United States, something that was feature of almost all titles in Jewison’s filmography. The content also deals with two issues which Jewison have covered before – race relations, which was subject of his “Oscar”-winning film In the Heat of the Night and corruption of American judicial system, which he covered in ...And Justice for All. Jewison as director here does a solid job, but he can’t compensate for some serious flaws in the script. The most obvious of those flaws is hagiographic treatment of the protagonist, which is presented as top athlete, outspoken and socially conscious public figure, loving husband and father and, finally, martyr who became victim of dozens and hundreds of vile racists that conspired to make his life miserable from earliest of days. This approach might work only if the targetted audience is somehow inoculated against all forms of cynicism or scepticism and is somehow willing to accept approach which is unusually one-sided even for Hollywood standards. The Hurricane looks even worse when compared with In the Name of the Father, film that dealt with the protagonist in the exactly the same situation as Carter and, despite being based on autobiographical book, portrayed said protagonist realistically, as a flawed and imperfect man. Another problem created by the script is fascinating story about 15-year boy who, due to fortunate and incredible set of circumstances, transforms into protagonist’s saviour. Scriptwriters can’t decided whether to give emphasis on Carter or Martin and the second part of the film is much weaker than the first. Impression is further worsened by overtheatrical courtroom finale in which Jewison unnecessarily tries to tackle predictability of the ending.
What makes this film watchable is Denzel Washington. One of the greatest American actors of our times has prepared for this role extensively, spending a lot of time with Carter trying to learn his mannerism and going to extensive physical training in order to portray boxing convincingly. Washington did great job and convincingly showed how Carter managed to win so many celebrities to his cause, including Bob Dylan whose famous song “Hurricane” makes part of the film’s soundtrack. Washington has easily overshadowed every other cast member, with possible exception of Vicellous Rheon Shannon who plays interesting and unusual character in realistic fashion. Yet, those efforts aren’t enough to make The Hurricane into anything more than merely watchable. Jewison had much better films in his past, just as Washington would have many better films in his future.
