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Last Updated: May 9th, 2008 - 01:44:02 |
Writer-director David Mamet may not have planned it this way, but it turns out that his new movie “Redbelt” hits on timely themes for today’s Americans, who are feeling the financial crunch of shady home foreclosures, lost jobs and increased costs that are straining families and communities.
The film gets to the meaty money issue through the story of a jiu-jitsu master named Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is struggling to keep open his Los Angeles studio, where he teaches martial arts for a living. His wife Sondra (Alice Braga) also runs her own fledgling but more profitable business producing fabrics and garments. When, by chance, Mike saves a celebrity from a beat down in a bar, it leads to a series of events that threaten to throw his already tenuous finances and family life into chaos.
In constructing this story and its many interlocking pieces and circumstances, Mamet uses the fight metaphor to, of course, talk about Terry’s physical and financial challenges. But he also draws in the elements of principal and courage. Even though Terry is surrounded by the world of competitive Brazilian jiu-jitsu, promoted by his brother-in-law, he doesn’t believe in fighting for money. He thinks that type of competition sullies the sport and the purity of each fighter’s motive. How he decides to reconcile his principles with his need for cash is an important part of this theme of a fight.
Throughout, there is nothing common about how Mamet handles “Redbelt.” Even though it is about a sport, it is not all about glory versus defeat, in the manner that we’ve come to expect of Hollywood sagas about boxing or the gridiron. Even though it is about deceit and tragedy, there are no caricatures of virtue or evil. Without hitting us over the head, it explores how lives are shaped by a job or the need for money. Though the focus is often quick violence, the pace of “Red Belt” is slow, giving it the feel of a fable, especially when combined with Mamet’s stage-like settings that draw us close to the action and interpersonal relationships.
This is the most physical yet role for Ejiofor, who with each varied film seems to get better and better as an actor. Or just maybe he is just getting more opportunity to show what he can do. As he did in “Dirty Pretty Things” and “Kinky Boots,” Ejiofor puts us into this story and his character completely. If there is any lapse, it is because Mamet stumbles at times with awkward direction or dialogue that slips from his usual remarkable efforts.
The character Mike also needs a bit more grounding, so that we understand more about his single chocolate chip existence in the sea of whites, including white Brazilians. It just would have added to the story to see, or even see a picture of, his mother, father, sister or brother, at some point so we could understand more fully where he is from—and where he got his fight
This review also appeared on Tom Joyner's BlackAmericaWeb.com,/i>
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