
Redbelt (2008) dir. David Mamet
Starring: Chiwetal Ejiofor, Emily Mortimer, Tim Allen, Ricky Jay, Joe Mantagna
***1/2
One of the best films of the year is David Mamet’s “Redbelt” – part con film, part sports film. It’s always fascinating, evolving and unpredictable. It’s a unique hybrid film combining Mamet’s fascination with mind games and deception with some traditional structure of the classic sports genre.
Though it’s not the first film to showcase Mixed Martial Arts as its central concept, it’s by far the best, and I doubt there will be any better. It turns out that the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mamet and badass of the Chicago theatre scene has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. His dedication and passion to the sport translates on screen as he delivers one of the best sports films in recent years, and in my opinion his best film as director.
It’s a fascinating set up. Laura Black (Emily Mortimer) an attorney is driving erratically at night, she accidentally hits Mike Terry’s car (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is teaching a jiu jistu class in his studio. When she walks in she’s on edge and after a series of small events accidentally grabs an off duty police officer’s gun and shoots out Mike’s store window.
Mike’s wife is angered because they now have to pay for the window with money they don’t have. This event, so accidental, is the beginning of a journey of a survival for Terry. Along the way a Hollywood star and director ingratiate him into their world. But when things are looking up they easily crash down, which forces Mike to make decisions which challenge his personal ethics and beliefs about fighting and jiu jitsu. Mamet is careful to drop this other shoe, and it all unfolds masterfully.
As expected Mamet crafts some wonderful dialogue. It’s largely bereft of his showy profane laden Glengarry Glen Ross style. At times the actors deliver their lines in this familiar voice, but Mamet tailors his dialogue to the characters. Mike Terry is first a student of the discipline of Jiu Jitsu and honourable and idealistic to the core. Terry is full of Sun Tzu-like philosophies, “A man distracted is a man defeated“ and “There is no situation you could not escape from.” Ejiofor expresses these lines with honour, integrity and believability. But nice guys finish last right? So we know his morals will get compromised somehow.
So can we start talking about Chiwetel Ejiofor as one of the best actors in Hollywood now? Well, he’s British of course, but he’s being cast by just about everyone in every kind of role.
Mamet is also an expert at skewering Hollywood as well (“Wag the Dog”, “State and Main”) and there’s a running theme of the corruption of the art by the television industry which has made MMA such a success. MMA owner Dana White has a featured interview on the DVD Special Features and legendary fighter Randy Couture has a role, yet, ironically Mamet is clear to show how sanctioned rules, fame and money easily and quickly corrupts the philosophy and grounded ideals of the art. This is the inner conflict for Mike. No one expounds or confesses these ideas in a speech, it’s subtly fed to us through background dialogue, nameless unimportant characters and throwaway lines. And so, after the problems compound on Mike and he’s forced to make his decision, we understand the weight of his choice.
“Redbelt” gets a little sloppy in the end as it wraps up its subplots. And the tone of climax may divide some audiences. It moves closer to genre than what we would expect from the first half. But in a movie about fighting it’s inevitable that the film would come down a fight. Thank you though David Mamet for not making the audience applaud. “Redbelt” is a great film. Enjoy.
Check out the Sony Pictures Blu-Ray edition which showcase’s Robert Elswit’s pristine cinematography.
1 comment :
情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,A片,A片,情色,A片,A片,情色,A片,A片,情趣用品,A片,情趣用品,A片,情趣用品,a片,情趣用品
A片,A片,AV女優,色情,成人,做愛,情色,AIO,視訊聊天室,SEX,聊天室,自拍,AV,情色,成人,情色,aio,sex,成人,情色
免費A片,美女視訊,情色交友,免費AV,色情網站,辣妹視訊,美女交友,色情影片,成人影片,成人網站,H漫,18成人,成人圖片,成人漫畫,情色網,日本A片,免費A片下載,性愛
情色文學,色情A片,A片下載,色情遊戲,色情影片,色情聊天室,情色電影,免費視訊,免費視訊聊天,免費視訊聊天室,一葉情貼圖片區,情色視訊,免費成人影片,視訊交友,視訊聊天,言情小說,愛情小說,AV片,A漫,AVDVD,情色論壇,視訊美女,AV成人網,成人交友,成人電影,成人貼圖,成人小說,成人文章,成人圖片區,成人遊戲,愛情公寓,情色貼圖,色情小說,情色小說,成人論壇
a片下載,線上a片,av女優,av,成人電影,成人,成人貼圖,成人交友,成人圖片,18成人,成人小說,成人圖片區,成人文章,成人影城,成人網站,自拍,尋夢園聊天室
A片,A片,A片下載,做愛,成人電影,.18成人,日本A片,情色小說,情色電影,成人影城,自拍,情色論壇,成人論壇,情色貼圖,情色,免費A片,成人,成人網站,成人圖片,AV女優,成人光碟,色情,色情影片,免費A片下載,SEX,AV,色情網站,本土自拍,性愛,成人影片,情色文學,成人文章,成人圖片區,成人貼圖
Post a Comment