Possibly the best film of the year

Rating: 9/10 (28 February 2006)

About 30 minutes into Hustle and Flow, not only did I think Terrence Howard had already earned his Oscar nomination, but had already won it. In DJay, he creates a very deep and layered character capable of brutal violence and unexpected moments of compassion at times. But mostly, he's just a real guy caught up in unreal businesses pursuing a dream.
While Howard absolutely owns this film, the film is made great by the supporting cast that surrounds DJay, especially the women. In what is a very weak field of Supporting Actresses, both Taryn Manning (Nola) and Taraji Henson (Shug) would have been very worthy nominees this year. It is through these women (and the performances of the actresses) that we are able to see the gentler side of DJay. The moment where Shug tells DJay how much singing on the demo tape meant to her was one of the films best moments. As was the exchange between DJay and Nola as he's being arrested. Another great sequence happens when Key's wife Yevette (Elise Neal) gives up trying to fight her husbands dream and instead brings over the sandwiches. Every character in this film is deep and makes you care about them.
I thought that, towards the end of the third act, when things take a turn for the worse between DJay and Skinny Black, that the film briefly spiraled out of control and got a little away from itself. Thankfully, it reeled itself back in pretty quickly once DJay was in prison. Maybe the three minutes or so of brutal violence and gunshots could have been replaced with a different way of DJay being incarcerated.
Terrence Howard hooked me from the beginning and his performance didn't let me go until it was over. I was very much on the edge of my seat the whole time in a film that doesn't have much edge of your seat action. Hustle and Flow is frequently funny, dramatic, moving, shocking and sometimes all of them. And it's moral is that it's OK to have a dream and pursue it. And it doesn't do it in a hokey way. Unforgettable and possibly the best film of 2005.