Another Story Ruined by Hollywood

Rating: 1/10 (1 June 2003)

This film is sooooooo boring to watch. When I read the books about both Lesra's and Rubin's stories, I cried and cheered out loud many times. That was years ago. While watching the film tonight, which happened to be on TV, I could barely stay awake. Hollywood treats the audience like ignorant children. Every scene was ruined because the director doesn't trust us to understand the slightest complexity of the events. What's worse is that only makes the events onscreen even more incomprehensible, especially regarding the track record of the judge in New Jersey. As well, the activists in Canada were portrayed as 3 people who sat around in their house all day mouthing unpassionate quips about life.
I think most people who raved about this film were taken by the amazing story of justice finally done, and the escape of Lesra from the poverty and injustice of life in the ghettos of the US. For such deep and complex issues to be addressed, we need deep and complex filmmakers. Hurricane the film is so one-dimensional, and that's a shame because in the right hands it could have contributed to social change. Instead, it's just a showcase for Denzel the actor. I wish this film could have been made by an independent film group in the UK or anywhere else that wouldn't have sanitized the story & the issues with a constant orchestra of horns & violins in the background as is sooo typical in every single drama to come out of Hollyholywood.