Confounds Expectations With Powerful Ensemble Acting and Relatable Idealism

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2006)

Surprisingly powerful performances dominate what is essentially a familiar story of a man who dreams of having a better existence than the one he has. What's revelatory is the atmosphere that director-screenwriter Craig Brewer paints in this bitingly realistic film focused on DJay, a Memphis pimp desperate to change his marginalized life and become a rapper to get out of the ghetto. He's obviously bright and articulate but morally bankrupt, as he makes a living selling the services of two women, the young but world-weary Nola and the embittered stripper Lexus, with a third prostitute at home, the self-defeating Shug, pregnant with his child. In the midst of a mid-life crisis, DJay reconnects with an old schoolmate, Key, who is now a sound engineer for a local church, who in turn, introduces DJay to Shelby, a white musician with his own beat machine. Together they cut a demo tape that DJay plans to give a local celebrity, hip-hop rapper Skinny Black, at a 4th of July party thrown by a mutual friend Arnel.
The film takes a while to gain its momentum, as Brewer establishes the gritty realism of his setting before moving the plot along. Credit Amy Vincent's verité-style cinematography, which makes us inhabit the ghetto setting without caution. Thanks mostly to Terrence Howard's searing portrayal of DJay, the story gains a palpable soul in his struggle to make it. Make no mistake in assuming the movie will be unrelentingly bleak and violent. It is, in certain ways, an idealistic film about finding one's destiny no matter how onerous the odds. Brewer is wise to keep his focus on the characters rather than the situation as the actors deliver the goods in unexpected ways. Comic actor Anthony Anderson is surprisingly subtle as Key, and along with Elise Neal's sharp turn as his high-strung, upwardly mobile wife Yevette, represents the middle-class black lifestyle with observational precision.
The three women who play the prostitutes leave vivid impressions - Paula Jai Parker powerfully shows the angry desperation of the aging Lexus; Taryn Manning combines the hick and huckster of Nola, the only one making DJay money; and in the film's most poignant performance, Taraji P. Henson brings heart and painful melancholy to Shug. When she discovers her vocal chops during a recording session or innocently brings in a lava lamp, Henson is heartbreakingly impressive. Ludicrous makes his key moments count as the nihilistic Skinny Black. There are also some predictable plot turns that move the story toward cliché, including a conclusion that teeters on melodrama, but the Brewer's original execution compensates. Above all else, it's Howard who makes the film resonate with a rich, multi-dimensional characterization. As he moves fluently back and forth between scarifying and tender, Howard makes DJay not heroic but real and painfully wanting of a better lot in life.
The DVD has several extras - Brewer's insightful commentary on an alternate audio track and three solid featurettes that lend insight to the production - "Behind the Hustle", which includes the cast members talking about their roles and showing their various auditions; "By Any Means Necessary", in which Brewer and producers John Singleton and Stephanie Allain talk about the struggles to get the film made; and "Creatin' Crunk", which showcases the various funk and rap stars called upon to create the memorable songs DJay and the others perform throughout the film. There is also a disposable clip of the Memphis premiere.