By: debbie lynn elias
I am undoubtedly in the minority when it comes to David Mamet. As a screenwriter, he has turned out some incredible works, two of his best being “Wag the Dog” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”. However, he has fallen short with many screenplay adaptations, most noticeably with “Hannibal”, the ongoing tale of everyone’s favorite cannibalistic psychiatrist created by Thomas Harris. And when it comes to directing, and most particularly, when directing his own work, such as REDBELT, I often wonder if it is a situation of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Mamet’s immersion in his projects is evident, yet as with REDBELT, the immersion appears to be more of an obsession about his personal passion – here, martial arts – leading to an uneven storyline, unfinished plot points and inexplicable holes in the story itself. Luckily, Mamet has an eye for casting the right person in the right part and even after having built his own stable of regular Mamet faces, in REDBELT his choices are masterful.
Mike Terry is a man of moral fiber and constitution. A Jiu-jitsu instructor, he has elected to lead an honorable life, operating his own martial-arts self-defense studio in the true spirit of the Samurai’s Code, rather than sell out to the mixed martial arts or prize fighting circuit in the US or abroad. Caring more about men and methods and morals, it is strange and unsettling to see him married to the money-hungry Sondra. A wannabe fashion designer, she works with friends and relatives in her native Brazil, trying to break into the LA fashion world with interesting fabric designs that hopefully will lead her to interesting and wealthy friends. Sondra has no concept of honor or loyalty. Knowing this, it comes as no surprise when on a dark and rainy night (I kid you not) that Mike’s life radically changes when attorney Laura Black, racing through the darkness and rain to the local pharmacy to pick up anti-anxiety medication, crashes into Mike’s truck parked outside his studio.
Wanting to do the right thing, Laura stops and goes into the studio. Clearly frightened and confused, Mike senses her inner turmoil. Given who he is, Mike wants to try and help her, calm her, but in so doing, Laura’s fears and insecurities take hold and she inadvertently grabs the revolver of an off-duty police officer Joe Collins who is a student of Mike’s, and fires it, splintering the studio front window. Ever honorable and concerned, Mike refuses to report the incident as it would not only bring dishonor to his studio, but to his friend Joe and, to Laura Black. Sondra, however, is not so forgiving and honorable, setting off marital discourse and a myriad of underlying subterfuge and intrigue.
With no money to pay for the broken window, Mike humbles himself and goes to Sondra’s brother Bruno for help, but can’t bring himself to succumb to Bruno’s scum-sucking conniving, self-promoting life. But Sondra has no qualms about doing whatever she believes necessary to get whatever she wants, so after a string of several other intertwining six-degrees-of-separation events, we ultimately learn that Sondra has borrowed $30,000.00 from a friend of Bruno’s, local loneshark Richard – and, she can’t pay him back. Loving his wife, and again, drawing strength from his inner disciplines, Mike is faced with one of the biggest challenges of his life and must choose between honor and self-perceived disgrace being drawn into mixed martial arts world filled with lies, deceit and fraud.
The individual acting performances are excellent. As Mike Terry, Chiwetel Ejiofor has aligned himself with the stars for another Oscar nod. Chiseled, complete, comprehensive and controlled, while I have never been a big Ejiofor fan, as Mike, he is extraordinarily compelling – particularly in a mid or close up shot. His eyes drive his performance home. (I still have to question how this character ever ended up being married to a pain in the ass like Sondra. Clearly the jiu-jitsu kept him emotional grounded and kept him from ringing her ungrateful greedy little neck). Alice Braga tackles Sondra and as you can tell from my comments, she more than succeeds at personifying egomaniacal back-stabbing bitchiness. Emily Mortimer astounded me with an unexpectedly riveting and transformative performance as Laura Black. Her emotional range is fulfilling not only to the character but to the film giving me even deeper levels of respect for her talents.
Ladies, you may not think a MMA film is for you, but you would be wrong. If for no other reason (okay, other than Ejiofor’s eyes), see this film for Rodrigo Santoro. A superstar in Brazil, he has transitioned into the American mainstream with an episode of “Lost”, not to mention his being that gorgeous guy with Nicole Kidman in the Baz Luhrmann directed Chanel No. 5 commercials, and the voice of Stuart Little in the Spanish language versions of the films. Here, as Bruno, he creates a well polished oil slick every time he is on screen. Silva is simply delicious.
The usual Mamet suspects also pop up as do some new and interesting faces. Veteran Joe Mantegna is so good at slime and he doesn’t disappoint here as Jerry Weiss, although I kept sensing a lot of his persona was left on the cutting room floor. David Paymer was a real surprise. I loved his insecure little loanshark character Richard. I was disappointed he didn’t have more screen time. Promoter Marty Brown appears as, what else, promoter Ricky Jay, and although annoying is appropriately effective. Max Martini gives a striking yet tellingly understated performance as Joe Collins. Tim Allen in a dramatic role (with, let’s face it, some sarcastic comedic undertone) was a pleasant surprise and a well done performance although I think his character Chet Frank could have been fleshed out more, as could that of Alice Braga’s, Sondra. For me, however, one of the biggest reasons to see this film is for Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, former holder of the WBC lightweight crown. As trainer George, although a small role, he is integral to the story. I had a chance to sit down with Ray and I have to tell you, a more engaging, animated, enjoyable, driven and diversified yet focused guy I have not met. Professional wrestler and UFC champion Randy “The Natural” Couture also steps into the ring as commentator Dylan Flynn.
For many years now, David Mamet has studied with, learned from and trained with the Jiu-jitsu master, Renato Magno, along with his colleagues and cousins, the world renowned Machados and Gracies. Passionate about the sport and its mental disciplines and philosophies, Mamet himself has attained a purple bet in Jiu-jitsu (which means he can kick my ass over this review). Stemming from this admiration and respect Mamet was compelled to develop a story about the the world of Jiu-jitsu, the men involved, and eventually arrived at REDBELT, a “cross-pollination between Hollywood, martial arts and the movie business.” Unfortunately, while the characters themselves are fascinating and the worlds he showcases intriguing, there are many holes in the story. Excessive double repetitive dialogue reaches annoyance and at times, the film is convoluted and confusing. And quite a few scenes seem unfinished and are just “dangling” in mid air, one in particular irks me to this day however, to reveal which one would be a spoiler at this point. For a talent so revered by many in the industry, I was prepared to ask Mamet about some of these issues, but for whatever reason, only radio and tv were granted interviews with him during roundtable press days and we print journalists were snubbed. But, I have to say this, Mamet’s ending is killer.
It’s very plain to see, however, that Mamet’s purpose in doing this film was to showcase his newfound love of martial arts and he does a tremendous job of that, presenting the sport with care, thought and respect. The pristine crisp cinematography of Robert Elswit is top notch and goes to further that loving embrace, culminating in some jaw dropping ultimate fight scenes. One might not think it, but costuming does play an important role in this film, and I tip my hat to Debra Maguire, who I see included some of her own line of accessories in there. Her work was well suited to the characters.
While I won’t go to the mat and rave about this film, I will say that despite an often lack of balance and the distracting “holes” in the story, what propels this film is the characters driving it with performances that are worthy of a blackbelt.
Mike Terry: Chiwetel Ejiofor Laura Black: Emily Mortimer Sondra Terry: Alice Braga Rodrigo Santoro: Bruno Silva Jerry Weiss: Joe Mantegna Chet Frank: Tim Allen
Written and directed by David Mamet. Rated R.
