At Last, Some Honesty

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2005)

The first thing I ask a movie like this to be is honest. If you're not going to give me romance and white dresses and beautiful vistas, then be honest. But if you're going to be honest, don't be cynical. Hustle & Flow is wonderful. It will never be a Hollywood movie. But the grit, the sweat, the hurt, the grimness of poverty, the hope and yes, love - it's all there. I didn't see one phony face, hear one phony line.
Like his first movie, The Poor & Hungry, Craig Brewer has an intelligent eye that I haven't seen matched by anyone except perhaps Satyajit Ray, for the poetry of poverty and small lives. Brewer doesn't romanticize it, doesn't condemn it, doesn't celebrate it (that would be a Hollywood movie). He just sees it, and somehow, miraculously, let's us see it. Then he takes us beyond our preconceptions and judgments into the hearts of the people he portrays. I can't call them characters because they're too real.
Terrance Howard is superb; so many people have already lauded his performance that I won't say anymore about that here. So is the rest of the cast - Sug, Nola, Key. I can't say enough good things about this movie. So, turn off your TV and walk yourself to Hustle & Flow where the good stuff is. Even if you detest crunk / rap / hip-hop, go see it. Even if you don't want to know about 'niggas and hoas' go see it. If you value honest movies, you won't be sorry.