Review of The Hurricane (1999) by Steven V — 16 Oct 2009
This is a powerful and compelling look at the life of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington) and his highly publicized fight for freedom from imprisonment. Based on a true story, the movie is an in-depth character study including Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's early life, the murders for which he was incarcerated, his coping with prison and his court battles.
Veteran director Norman Jewison creates a tight weave of factors affecting Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's life: his childhood, the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960's, and the people who came to his defense.
It is an impressive panoply of the forces that swept over his life like a tidal wave. The period props and costumes were well done and accurate in the 1960's scenes. The movie presents some good historical footage of the civil rights movement, but gets a little too preachy at times.
This was a superb performance by Denzel Washington, perhaps his best to date. His portrayal of the internal struggle to use his seething anger to help him survive was sensational. Vicellous Reon Shannon's performance was great too.
He exuded sincerity, toughness and genuine empathy, and had very good chemistry with Denzel Washington.
This review of The Hurricane (1999) was written by Steven V on 16 Oct 2009.
The Hurricane has generally received very positive reviews.
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