Denzel Washington's career simply becomes more and more versatile, to say nothing of powerful, as he leaps out of the bed where he was confined in "The Bone Collector," to the boxing ring, and, ultimately, the prison where he finds himself confined in "The Hurricane."
A grueling and complex true story, Washington portrays Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer at the top of his career, when he is suddenly and wrongly accused of murder.
Three people are killed in a New Jersey bar one night by killers who are "black, and escape in a white car." Carter and a young friend happen to have innocently been driving a white car that night, and for some prosecutors, that's enough.
After a series of grand jury appearances where the two are acquitted, they finally are identified by two bribed felons and wind up in prison for three life terms.
After several years in prison, Hurricane channels his anger, and writes his side of the story in a book called "The Sixteenth Round," published in 1974. The book earns publicity for Hurricane, attracting the attention of both Mohamed Ali, and Bob Dylan, (who wrote the song " Hurricane," in tribute). He gets a new trial, however, once again, he is sent back to prison, even though the felons who testified against him admit they were bribed.
Now, flash forward to Canada where a troubled teenager, Lessa Martin, played by Vicellous Reon Shannon, comes across Hurricane's book in a used bookstore. Martin is living with Canadian mentors who are helping him. He becomes fascinated with the story, to the degree that he visits Hurricane in prison, and persuades his mentors to come to New York and help try to free him.
This, then, is the story of that struggle, related in flashbacks to Hurricane's former life. The three young Canadian idealists, played by Deborah Unger, John Hannah and Liev Schreiber, working with Hurricane's attorneys, finally get his conviction overturned in 1985, after he has spent 20 years in prison.
The film is directed by Canadian Norman Jewison who has created a "jewel," according to more than one reviewer. Another says "if you don't like boxing, don't let that throw you off this experience." Hurricane, himself, states the film's theme succinctly, "Hate put me in here, and love got me out."
Washington worked with the real life Hurricane, who says of the film, "I can't believe it isn't me." Also, in real life, Hurricane moved to Canada, where he worked to pay off all the expenses the Canadians incurred in earning his release.
It is rated R for language and violence.
It starts Thursday at Market Square East.
