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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
REDBELT
Okay, most of his fans know by now that playwright/screenwriter/director David Mamet’s Redbelt (new on DVD) isn’t your typical chopsocky, gravity defying martial arts film, but even a master of plot construction must kowtow to the limitations of this genre. It’s the sad tale of Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), owner and the instructor of a financially-strapped Brazilian ju-jitsu school in Los Angeles. He is satisfied enough by the mastery of his art to do without much materially. Sounds noble, but his samurai-like stoicism is only magnified by the corrupt world around him: his wife (Alice Braga) is more concerned with making money; and his brother-in-law (Rodrigo Santoro), a crooked fight promoter, sees dollar signs in getting Mike to compete in the ring. There are good people who enter his life, too—but they also cause him stress, like the strung-out stranger (Emily Mortimer) wreaking havoc as soon as she bursts through Mike’s door after she has just hit his car. Her needs and personal demons instantly add more weight on his shoulders. And in a fascinating turn—fascinating because it’s hard to picture this actor in a Mamet piece—Tim Allen, of all people, plays a subdued, aging movie star who gets rescued by Mike in a bar brawl. The fading actor admires the instructor’s skill—along with his unimpugnable ways—and tries to glom off of Mike’s shine. Needless to say, this is a fight movie, and along with all the elaborate twists and turns Mamet puts in, the story revolves around the question: when do we get to see this guy fight? Mamet doesn’t fight the obligatory. For those who saw this in the theatre, there was most likely more than a few who wondered why the creator of Glengarry Glen Ross was ever interested in injecting his mojo into a movie that could only provide limited story range at best (though with his customary punchy dialogue). The answer lies in the DVD extras. It turns out that Mr. Mamet has been training in the art of—yup—ju-jitsu. Among the vocal detractors of martial arts training, many claim it transforms its practitioners into making self-defense—and eventually offense—the focal points of their lives, not unlike a cult. And while there aren’t any case studies to back that up, it is interesting to see how much the director wants you to know how much he loves the sport, one of the mixed martial arts—a combination of judo, boxing, kick boxing, and wrestling. The DVD features a look at the history of MMA and offers a profile on all of the real-life fighters who appear in the film…which does offer an eyebrow-raising moment involving Mamet actually sparring—talk about a transforming moment. It may change whatever image you had of the man as he seems entranced by his now-ability to fight. There’s a Q&A session with Mamet, and it is, unfortunately, underwhelming at best. Granted, many directors (as well as actors too) tend to seem bored during interviews, but this time, it feels slightly uncomfortable with the director answering rudimentary questions in a 26-minute showdown that feels as if an extra half-hour of uneasy silence had been edited out. If you want to see a more spirited conversation, check out the interview with Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, who offers a massive amount of info pertaining to the league. Of course, there’s the obligatory commentary with Mamet, where he’s joined by Randy Couture, another MMA fighter who has a part in the film. It’s Mr. Couture who ends up providing your humble critic’s favorite moment. Referring to all the true-to-life fighters who appear in Redbelt, he asks Mamet, “Was it hard for you to direct all those non-actors?” to which one could add, “Yeah, how hard was it to direct Tim Allen?”
(Just a joke Tim, Galaxy Quest is great.) –Ian
J.
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