Redbelt (2008)

Should I see it?
Yes.

My long-suffering wife had it right when she tagged all David Mamet as being “guy stuff”. Women can certainly enjoy David Mamet’s writing, but his plays and scripts have a definite masculine core to them. His men are purely American, aggressive and smart, but foiled by powers beyond their control. Their frustrations erupt in snaps of invective-laced dialog and unstable logic.

Mamet’s films have been uneven. On one hand, he’s produced the enjoyable and comfortable Things Change.  He also delivered complex, but wandering films like House of Games and Homicide.  However, he also made incoherent messes like Heist. It seems as though half the time his productions get out of his hands. This outing is probably his best directorial work on film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (2012) gives a great performance as Mike Terry, a committed mixed-martial arts instructor who is forced to battle his ideals when financial ruin pushes him towards selling himself out to prize fighting. Ejiofor is very impressive in this role. He not only handles the athletic aspect of the role, he sells the idea that he’s a top competitor.  Beyond the physical aspects, Ejiofor's offers a subtle performance that melds perfectly with Terry's character - a man who is very controlled yet approachable.

Terry is a good man who seems liberated by the inner control he finds in jujitsu. His small school is a labor of love not profit. When things turn sour for him and the pressures build, Terry’s ideals are challenged. Ejiofor masterfully presents this internal conflict with a leveled delivery. Chiwetel Ejiofor isn’t well known, but his face may be familiar to the twelve people who made it through Children of Men. This performance is an absolute career maker. Every once in a while an actor who’s been languishing in supporting roles will get an opportunity, either with a rich support role (Vincent D'Onofrio as Private Pile in Full Metal Jacket) or a more prominent role in a smaller film such as this. When they get that good role, they knock it out of the park and the audience is left sitting thinking “where did this guy come from?” The problem here? No one is going to see this performance because this film has been overlooked.

This is a guy movie with brains. Despite it being penned by one of the great living American writers and befitting his impressive resume, this is a movie that can be enjoyed by most guys. Terry’s struggle to keep his dignity and this livelihood is something most men can identify with. The fact that he gets to do so by beating the tar out of other men is just icing on the dramatic cake. Mamet writes some fantastic scenes and drafts some interesting characters, as one would expect; thankfully he also doesn’t skimp on the fighting.


Related Reviews:
Another David Mamet movie
Spartan (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Critical Culture
Combustible Celluloid