|
Denzel Washington stars in this film by acclaimed director Norman Jewison. It's based on the true story of Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, a gifted boxer whose career was cut short due to unfair life sentences bestowed onto him for the murders of three white people in a Patterson, N.J. bistro in 1966. Carter is no stranger to life behind bars, thanks to the local seargent whose determination to keep the man in stripes began when Carter, then an 11-year-old disadvantaged black boy, stabbed a pillar of his New Jersey community for noble reasons. Carter adopts a philosophy which deters him from needing anything the prison provides. During his time there, he stays in his room reading, exercising and making his own meals. Carter writes a book entitled The 16th Round, an autobiography describing what his life was like and the events leading up to his final confinement. Enter Lesra Martin, an African-American Brooklyn-native adopted by three white Canadians who teach him to read and write so he can follow his dream of going to college. Lesra picks up Carter's book for a quarter and begins reading diligently. The Canadians, Terry, Steve and Lisa, encourage the young man to write to his hero-of-the-moment and the seed of a friendship between all five people is sewn. Carter is weary at first of befriending the Caucasions, and protective of Lesra, but is soon swallowed by the respect and admiration they all share for each other. This movie is more than a film about a wrongly-accused boxer struggling for freedom, it's about the miracles that can happen when hate gives way to love. An important lesson is learned here which is Denzel Washington will always be damn fine no matter how old he looks.
|
