Hurricane a perfect knockout

Rating: 9/10 (1 August 2000)

Denzel Washington plays Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a welterweight boxer who was wrongly imprisoned for murder. Rubin's learned his life lessons at the proverbial school of hard knocks, mostly at the hands of racist police officers in his home town of Paterson, New Jersey. But, being the tough I-can-take-on-the-world kind of guy he is, he fights his way through the hatred and perseveres to become welterweight champ. And all is going well until one night when Carter is arrested and charged with the murders of four innocent people. With a checkered past that includes problems with white authorities, Carter is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment.

Carter tries to appeal his case, but to no avail. Many people rally to his defense, including celebrities. Nothing. Sixteen years later, Hurricane is still in stir. Three Canadians decide to pick up his case: Terry Swinton, Lisa Peters, and Sam Chaiton, who vow to free Carter.
On the surface, you might dismiss this as another put-upon-man-fights-back-against-all-and-triumphs-over-bad-due-to-the-strength-of-his-heart kind of movie. And the fact that this is a true story would tend to make you think, "Oh, well of course he triumphs, otherwise they wouldn't be making a movie out of it!" But let me warn you here: Please don't make such sweeping assumptions about this masterpiece.
There are times, during the early part of this movie, during the childhood years and early adulthood years of Carter, that one gets a sense that they've seen this before. Those times are slowly erased when the film turns from being a standard biopic to being a taut, tender courtroom drama. And if you think there's no such beast as a "tender" courtroom drama, then friends you have not seen this movie.
This is a powerful film. It first lulls you with that sense of sameness from the early Carter days then smacks you upside the head with an ending that, while predictable (it IS a true story, of course) is so emotionally charged and magnificently acted that there is simply no way you can walk away from it without feeling something. There's a lot to be said for a movie that can do all that despite being so factual and almost antiseptic. Sure, anytime the good guys win you're more apt to have a tear running down your face, but this movie seems to transcend all of that.
Washington himself turns in perhaps the best performance of his entire career, and considering the accolades this man has generated in his nearly 20-year career, that's no small feat. Even with a murmur, Washington can essay such passion to raise the eyes of even the most downtrodden lost soul. He is the magnet in this film, the movie's draw, but he's not the only one performing so well. Each of the Canadians who fight for him are a real treat to watch, especially the talented Deborah Unger as Lisa Peters. Add to all of this the superb, experienced direction of Norman Jewison, and my friends, you have yourselves a masterpiece.