Possibly the most overrated film of 1999

Rating: Null/10 (29 September 2000)

Formulaic, slow and fairly dull, THE HURRICANE does not, in my humble opinion, do justice to the unfortunate life of its hero, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.
I'm not going into the story, except to say that its unfolding and ending are predictable to the point of boredom. The script is disjointed, jumping uncomfortably from Canada to the prison, from past to present. The film attempts to raise issues of racism unsuccessfully, avoiding explorations of the US legal system and explanations of how corrupt or bigoted cops get away with what they might do. Dan Hedaya's character is a stock villain, with cliched lines and little vigour or zest.
Denzel Washington's performance is adequate, though nothing special or powerful. That we won a Golden Globe over Richard Farnsworth (THE STRAIGHT STORY), Russell Crowe (THE INSIDER) and even Matt Damon (THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY) come as a surprise. However, it is only Washington that holds this viewer's interest until Rod Steiger makes his commanding cameo as the judge toward the end. He manages to steal the entire two hours plus from Washington in his short few minutes.
The script is much to blame for the sluggish pace but a director of Norman Jewison's calibre would be expected to do better. The film lacks the gritty feeling of RAGING BULL. The B&W work of Roger Deakins is surprisingly glossy in the boxing scenes. Deakins has shown that he can do better: look at his unconventional work on FARGO, KUNDUN and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, for example. Jewison is probably to blame for this, too, as he had a hand in the film as producer.
Rubin Carter's story is quite a story that did need to be told, I'm sure. However, I'm certain that the Hollywood version does little justice to an apparently great man.