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Redbelt - Review
Length: 99 min Rated: R Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics Release Date: 2008-05-09 Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alica Braga, Emily Mortimer, Tim Allen, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, Rodrigo Santoro, Jennifer Grey
Directed by David Mamet
Produced by Chrisann Verges
Written by David Mamet
Visit the movie's Official Site!
The problem is not his lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor. He plays Mike Terry, a martial arts instructor dedicated to training people to succeed. He shuns competition because he believes it weakens you, and it’s not until later in the film that we come to realize how right he is. Ejiofor is brilliant, as he always is. Here’s an actor who has never met a role he couldn’t absolutely inhabit, even if what’s written on the page he’s working from doesn’t deserve his dedication. If you’ve somehow missed Chiwetel’s past work, make it a point to run out and rent Serenity, in which he shows off far superior martial arts prowess to what Redbelt delivers, or Talk to Me, in which he delivers better dialogue than anything which Mamet’s script throws him. It’s Mamet who torpedoes his movie. His script is a disaster filled with random, inexplicable occurrences shoehorned in with the express purpose of forcing Mike Terry to do something he doesn’t want to do: compete. Watching a fighter backed into a corner until he’s forced to raise a fist is a tried and true movie formula, but it’s never been done so clumsily here. What happens to Mike Terry never makes a lick of sense, and it only gets more ridiculous and slapdash as the movie wears on. Mamet has a specific direction mapped out for his main character, but seems to have no good idea of how to get there, so he just throws everything he can think of into the script without explanation, and hopes we’ll use our imaginations to fill in the gaps left by reason and common sense. That might have been forgivable in light of Ejiofor’s stellar performance, had the movie’s fight sequences proved, at the least, somewhat entertaining. They do not. This is a movie rooted in the world of Mix Martial Arts, and though I’m sure the sport’s fanatics will disagree, MMA just isn’t very cinematic. You don’t need to be a boxing expert to thrill to the fancy punches of an expert boxer. You don’t need to know anything about karate to stand up and cheer when the good guy clocks the bad guy with a roundhouse. But MMA boils down to little more than two guys hugging, and there’s just nothing exciting for the average joe in watching shirtless dudes playing grabass and bleeding all over each other. It’s kind of a bore. And that pretty well sums up Redbelt. It’s a dullsville, a grab bag of random coincidences and bland fight sequences. You’ll love Mike Terry simply because Ejiofor is so good, but Mamet seems to have absolutely no idea what to do with him.
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April 27th, 2008 at 16:01
Josh,
Nice summation of David Mamet's incredibly inconsistent career. I have not seen Redbelt, though I plan to. I wrote something similar while writing about the crapfest that is State and Main. Take a read:
Mamet is a writer/director who is consistent in his style but he is wildly inconsistent in the quality of his work. Let's take a look at the films Mamet has directed.
The Good:
House of Games--a classic which shows Mamet knows how to visualize his own tricks
The Winslow Boy--brilliant adaptation of the Rattigan play with a wealth of visual intelligence within the cramped setting of the play. also features what is easily Rebecca Pidgin's best performance. Northam and Hawthorne's performances are amazing.
Spartan--pleasantly surprised by how accomplished the action scenes are in this film. this is also a clever script and the pacing make this the most "alive" of all of Mamet's films.
Oleanna (Basically a filmed play but anyone who watches this will have a reaction. guaranteed. so in that sense it is a success.
The Mediocre:
The Spanish Prisoner--a little too clever for its own good and the ending is a total cheesefest. but it does pull you in and is engrossing until the ridiculous resolution
Things Change--Charming but in a thin way. Also lacks style and rhythm
The Bad:
State & Main--The idea itself is good and could have been comic gold if Mamet didn't insist on giving it his usual metronomic dialogue. If Mamet wanted it to be a satire he should have let his very talented cast cut loose and create truly funny caricatures of the various Hollywood types they play. Instead they look hamstrung by Mamet's paper thin notions of Hollywood types. He goes for the obvious at every turn and none of it is funny, original, or perceptive. The only clever bit was having the locals quote box-office numbers.
But the real problem with this movie is the directing. It is one of the most visually uninteresting movies I have ever seen. I don't mean that there has to be beautiful vistas all filmed at magic hour for a movie to be visually appealing. I just want the compositions to effect and enhance the story. There is none of that in State and Main. Every scene is shot in the same flat manner and even the lighting is poorly done.
The other problem with State and Main is that it has no rhythm. The scenes don't transition well which gives the whole movie a cut and paste feel.
Heist--Cliches without any sense of irony or depth. everyone seems to be coasting on this one except Rebecca Pidgin who tries really hard to be vampish to poor effect. easily her worst perormance)
Haven't seen Homicide.
I also must say that Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorite films. Mamet's best script, great performances by all, and James Foley's visual panache make it a classic.
Anyway good review but I still wanna see Redbelt.