Redbelt

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens in a Jiu-Jitsu studio where Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is teaching an advanced class. Mike employs a unique training method. Before a sparring match, each fighter draws one of three marbles, two black and one white. Whoever draws a black marble has to fight with a handicap as determined by the spin of a wheel much like a board game. Joe (Max Martini), a police officer training for a black belt, draws a black marble and must compete with his hands shackled in front of him while his opponent drew the white marble and is unencumbered. Joe puts up an impressive fight but ultimately loses when he is unable to break a choke hold. Mike consoles him by showing Joe that despite the handicap, he could've easily broken the choke hold if he was more focused.Meanwhile, Laura (Emily Mortimer) is driving through a heavy downpour desperately trying to locate a pharmacy before it closes to fill a prescription. Frustrated and distracted while talking on her phone, she sideswipes a parked truck. Seeking the truck's owner, Laura wanders into the Jiu-Jitsu academy while Mike is demonstrating how Joe's police issued shoulder holster is a liability in a fight. Joe sees that Laura is soaked and distressed so he chivalrously tries to take her coat. Startled, she grabs Joe's stray gun which he set down only briefly during Mike's private demonstration. The gun fires and shatters the studio's front window. Laura picks up the ejected shell casing while Joe and Mike are shocked by how easily and dramatically she was frightened.Mike and Joe agree to hide that the shooting ever happened. Technically, the police could charge Laura with attempted murder which wouldn't be fair to a woman who is clearly just disturbed and meant no harm. But claiming the window broke because of strong wind makes it an act of God and not covered by Mike's insurance. This sparks an argument between Mike and his wife over finances. Apparently the academy is bankrupt. The only reason it hasn't closed is because Mike's wife, Sondra (Alice Braga), is supplementing with profits from her fashion business which puts a strain on her income. Sondra advises Mike to ask for a loan from Sondra's brother, Ricardo (John Machado), a mixed martial arts champion.Mike goes to visit Ricardo at his club which is co-owned by Sondra's other brother, Bruno (Rodrigo Santoro). Mike notices that the club has no bouncer. Joe was supposed to be bouncing to earn extra cash for his family's unnamed medical bills. Ricardo is unavailable so Mike meets with Bruno instead. While waiting to see Bruno, Mike is entertained by a cocky magician. The man displays some incredible sleight of hand by turning a die from black to white with uncanny ease. Mike also learns from the bartender that Joe quit bouncing because Bruno never paid him.In the club's office, Bruno and fight promoter Marty Brown (Ricky Jay) are discussing how to promote a championship mixed martial arts fight between Ricardo and a Japanese legend, Morisaki (Enson Inoue). Marty makes some references to fixing the fight and Bruno debates with him about whether or not Ricardo will go for it.Mike finally meets with Bruno and questions him about why he didn't pay Joe. Bruno gives a mysteriously vague explanation claiming that he planned on paying Joe eventually but Joe was impatient. Bruno also tries to encourage Mike to fight on the undercard in the aforementioned upcoming fight which could potentially pay out $50,000. But Mike follows a strict, samurai-like code. He believes competition weakens the fighter because a competition is not a fight, especially when it's only for money. Their conversation is interrupted when Bruno notices on the security monitors that Chet Frank (Tim Allen), an aging Hollywood action star, just entered the club without a bodyguard.Chet offers to buy a woman at the bar a drink, but the woman's boyfriend gets offended and picks a fight with Chet. When the boyfriend attempts to attack Chet with a broken bottle, Mike intervenes to stop the fight. Two more guys attack Mike, but Mike quickly subdues them.The following day, a messenger shows up at Mike's door delivering an expensive watch from Chet Frank and an invitation to dinner. Chet is grateful for Mike's intervention in the bar fight. Mike gives the watch to Joe and advises him to pawn it. Mike feels responsible for hooking Joe up with an employer that stiffed him.Mike goes to the academy the following morning and finds that Laura is paying to fix the window. She apologizes for her odd behavior the previous evening and accepts an enrollment form for Mike's class.That evening during dinner, Chet's wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) admires Sondra's fashion style and arranges an informal business deal to buy a large supply of dresses from Sondra's company. After hearing some of the tenets of Mike's teaching philosophy, Chet invites Mike to the set of his recent film project the next morning. Before parting ways, Sondra encourages Mike to tell Chet's business associate, Jerry Weiss (Joe Mantegna), about the marble drawing training method. Jerry thinks it's an interesting concept and comments on how it could be a clever gimmick to use in competitive fighting to draw a crowd.The next morning, Mike visits the movie set. Chet is running late so Mike wanders the set and discovers a colleague/acquaintance is doing stunt choreography for the movie's hand to hand combat. Having served in Desert Storm, Mike was able to answer some of Chet's technical questions about the military. Impressed with Mike's knowledge, Chet asks Mike to be a co-producer of the film. Jerry invites Mike to dinner that evening to discuss the details. Mike returns home to share the good news with Sondra and begins faxing details of his training methods to Jerry so they can be used in the movie.Mike meets with Laura later that afternoon for a private lesson. Laura reveals that she was raped while the assailant held a knife to her throat thus explaining why she's easily startled. Skeptical of Mike being able to help her, she begins to exit the studio. Mike aggressively grabs her from behind holding a rubber training knife to her throat. After showing her how she could've escaped from such a predicament, Laura cathartically sobs.Later while preparing for the beginner class, Joe shows up to the studio and informs Mike that he was temporarily suspended from duty after trying to pawn a stolen watch. Mike is shocked to learn it was stolen and assures Joe that he will straighten things out.When meeting Jerry for dinner, Mike insists on sorting out the issue of the stolen watch before discussing other business. Jerry is shocked and embarrassed to learn the watch was stolen and excuses himself to go make a phone call to handle the matter. Jerry never returns and Mike leaves the restaurant puzzled. When Mike gets home, Sondra is also confused. The phone numbers that Chet's wife gave her have been disconnected. Sondra is panicky because she already ordered $30,000 worth of fabric based on their oral business arrangement. Sondra borrowed the money for the fabric from a loan shark (David Paymer).Mike meets with the loan shark to plead for more time to pay back the money. During their conversation, Mike notices Marty Brown and Bruno on television promoting the mixed martial arts match of Ricardo versus Morisaki. As a promotional gimmick, they are planning to use Mike's marble drawing technique for the undercard fights.Mike then hires Laura to see if they can sue the fight promoter for stealing Mike's idea. The problem is they can't prove how Marty Brown could've stolen the idea if Mike never told it to him. That question is answered when Jerry Weiss enters Marty's office and refers to Marty as his new partner. This connected Mike's idea to Jerry then to Marty thus allowing Laura to prove theft and conspiracy to defraud. But Marty's lawyer threatens that if they don't drop the lawsuit then he will hand over proof to the police, in the form of an empty shell casing with Laura's fingerprints, that she attempted to kill an off duty cop. He can also prove that Mike was a witness who covered up the attempted murder by bribing the cop with a stolen wrist watch.Upon hearing about this situation, Joe feels entirely responsible and kills himself. Mike visits Joe's wife to console her but finds she is inconsolable. She claims Joe was trying to preserve the honor of the academy and Mike's principles. But mostly she's angry because she's stuck with a stack of bills that she can't pay. Mike feels obligated to help. Desperately in need of money, Mike decides to abandon his principles and compete as an undercard fighter in the upcoming competition.When Mike arrives at the arena before the fight, he learns that the promoters have made the marble drawing look like an elaborate, ancient ritual conducted by an elderly man wearing a ceremonial mask and escorted by tribal drummers. Mike also learns that his mentor, known as The Professor, is present at the fight. As Mike walks through the halls of the arena, he peers through a partially opened dressing room door and sees that the elderly Asian man who draws the colored stones is actually the magician from Bruno's club in disguise. The magician is vainly displaying his sleight of hand skills in the dressing room mirror and secretly switching colored marbles. Mike realizes that the fight is fixed. Unbeknownst to the competitors, the magician assigns the handicap as predetermined by the fight promoters. Disgusted by this revelation, Mike confronts the promoters/conspirators: Marty, Jerry and Bruno. They confirm the accusation and also reveal that Ricardo is intentionally losing the fight to Morisaki so they can make money on the rematch.When Mike accuses them of being responsible for Joe's suicide, Jerry laments that it was unfortunate but blames Mike for being stupid enough to give a gift from someone as important as Chet Frank. Jerry also tells Mike that Sondra is the one who told them about Laura shooting the window. Bruno justifies her betrayal by explaining that his sister is too smart to stay with someone who can't provide for her.As Mike is exiting the arena, he meets with Laura. Their conversation is not audible, but it ends with Laura giving Mike a loud, echoing slap to the face. Mike then re-enters the arena determined to expose that the fights are fixed. One by one, security guards try to stop Mike but they are unsuccessful. Finally, Ricardo engages Mike. As they begin fighting in the arena's corridors, the audience and camera crews take notice. Eventually, Ricardo puts Mike in a difficult choke hold. As he's losing consciousness, Mike is inspired by the sight of The Professor and reverses the hold. Mike wins the fight. He is approached by Morisaki who awards Mike with his ivory-studded belt, previously referred to as a Japanese national treasure. Mike is then approached by The Professor himself who awards Mike with the coveted Redbelt, signifying Mike as his one worthy pupil.

Tags: violence, neo noir, plot twist

Review:
As David Edelstein says in his nonetheless favorable review of 'Redbelt,' its plot is "so bizarrely convoluted it barely holds together on a narrative level." Maybe Edelstein's right that this is typical of fight movies; it's even more typical of Mamet.
Some have just attributed this to Mamet's doing a "noir," a "prize fight story," even a "Rocky," with "mixed martial arts" (jujitsu really) the updated replacement of boxing--and this time not even getting in the way of the (for him) new genre.
This is so much an action movie and Ejiofor is so convincing that the dialog very rarely sounds mannered this time.If you understand what Mamet's doing and how that's different this time from both Mamet's routines and the sports genre film, the ending ins't hasty or confused so much as emotionally satisfying and right.
However, after watching Redbelt, I have been forced to say something.In short the film is about a martial arts instructor who is too idealistic for the real world around him.
Many people also felt that this film should have been considered for the Cadillac Award, and were disappointed that Redbelt was ineligible for the top competition honor.As always taut screenplay and cracking dialogues were the hallmark of the film, like any other Mamet movie or play.
I have not been able to pin point so far, but I do see parallels between the protagonists of his earlier film Spartan (played by Val Kilmer) and Redbelt (played to greatness by the ever brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor).Overall an amazing film and Mamet fans won't be disappointed..
Maybe I was tired or just too caught up in the acting and fight sequences, but it really surprised me in a good way; I didn't see it coming at all.Credit should go to the performers too for keeping their end of the game high quality.
A true hero, Mike Terry continues on his path of righteousness, pushing the anger away and clearing his mind to prevail.The rest of the castconsisting of many Mamet regulars like wife Rebecca Pidgeon, David Paymer, and Ricky Jay in small rolestake the words and nail each reading.
Max Martini stands out as Terry's star pupil and backbone emotionally to the story; Alice Braga is good as the wife finding that standing by her man may not be the way to succeed financially in life; Emily Mortimer is fantastic as the troubled attorney who's accidental introduction to the gym puts everything into motion; and Tim Allen shows that maybe he still has some good serious turns in him if only he can get some time off from children's fare.
Respect, honor, greed, back-stabbing and gratitude rule this film, turning it into an intriguing, emotional and entertaining movie.With fantastic acting by most, smart, realistic writing, and some emotional scenes, REDBELT delivers an especially big wallop on the intimate side.
Writer director David Mamet gave a brief introduction before presenting what he is known for, a very intriguing story with several characters that have their own agendas and who will deceive to get what they want.The protagonist is Mike Terry as played with smoldering intensity by Chiwetel Ejiorfor, who've I've seen before in supporting roles in "American Gangster" and "Talk to Me." Generally, he's generally is every single scene and the audience will discover the plot twists the same time he does.The first scene begins with Ejiofor as a jujitsu instructor, shouting "Breath, breathe, there is always a way out," as he oversees two contestants Max Martini and Jose Pablo Cantino having quite an intense workout that almost has fatal consequences until Ejorfor intervenes.
Advertising an all-star cast, the trailer for Red Belt, and two generous reviews from otherwise reliable TV sources, inspired hope in me that Red Belt might reset the bar for martial arts action films, marking an end to the Bruce Lee era, exiting that dragon and entering a new era of fight realism adjoined to excellence in cinema.
There are few fight scenes in Red Belt, and this was okay by me because the goal, I thought, was to make a real movie, unlike film fodder from Charles Norris et al,where plots are the meek excuse for flashy, over-choreographed fight action at every street corner, and good guys always prevail.
I am a fan of Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mike Terry, lead character), and I would not have gone to Red Belt had he, or an actor of his caliber not starred in the movie.
David Mamet's Redbelt is more than a Jiu-Jitsu competition for the highest belt; in the best tradition of complicated fight films, this competition is for the principled soul of academy owner/instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the fight representing a challenge to his long-standing Samurai principle that "a competition is not a fight." Mamet's love affair with crisp crude language (See Spartan and Glengarry Glen Ross for starters) is in this film still a staccato rhythm mixed with minimal dialogue emphasizing the great issues such as authenticity and honesty rather than expletives.
Not to mention his rich personal life.So if you're a Mamet fan or a student of cinema or of dialogue or of acting or of martial arts, see REDBELT (one word).
But I suspect it was this:And this may be more important than anything I have said above-- It may be that Mamet sees such cynical ugliness and dirtiness in Hollywood and in professional fighting (both part of the same set of ethics) that no plot point is needed to simply tell us, Hey, those are bad people.But if cynicism is what he wants to promote, how's this: I cynically suspect Mamet wrote this story so he could meet some favorite boxers and hang out inside the boxing and martial arts scene.
You don't know who any of the characters are, the movie doesn't explain who anybody is, and there is no way of discerning what role (if any) they all play in the plot until the last few minutes of the film.Basically, if you don't mind watching a depressing movie that makes little sense until the end of the movie, then be my guest.
Without other option, Mike decides to fight in the ring to raise the necessary money to pay his debts."Redbelt" is a deceptive movie of the great writer and director David Mamet.
What remains most remarkable about Redbelt, David Mamet's latest feature as writer/director, is not that it's seemingly like many a boxing/fight genre picture, or that he incorporates a solid twist with it being ju-jitsu with martial arts code thrown in.
It's that he places a lead character, Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a truly honorable and good man who lives completely by the code as a teacher and practicer of black-belt ju-jitsu, into the midst of a usual Mametian universe.
It's this conflict, of putting a heroic character who will without fail do the right thing even when presented with his hope on a (dirty) silver platter, that makes things a little more interesting than the average bear.That being said, Mamet is working in something of a limited scope- of the traditional guy-gets-in-a-jam B-movie found in some sports and noir flicks of old Hollywood.
Instead, Mamet has other characters to that part of the show, like Tim Allen's typical movie-star character (which he fits just right for), and grubby fight promoter Ricky Jay. Then there are some good, tricky female parts for Alice Braga (a rising talent to be sure), and Emily Mortimer as a lawyer.While the dialog, as usual for Mamet, is beyond reproach, it's a sensibility in the material that keeps things moving well along when things should seem obvious and black-and-white.
After saving his ass in a vicious bar brawl, action star Chet Frank (Tim Allen) asks jujitsu sensei Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), "So you train people to fight?" Mike replies, "No, I train people to prevail." David Mamet's "Redbelt" has a poignant reverence for the martial arts in a captivating story of honor.
I had read that Mamet himself is a brown belt in Brazilian Jujitsu, and had wanted to a make movie about mixed martial arts for a while.
This is coming from someone who's not a David Mamet aficionado, but "Red Belt" had everything I love in movies: a great story with complex characters, clash of ethics, vice, greed, and self-preservation.
But everyone who familiar with David Mamet's works will know what they have to be expected.Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and self-defense instructor who imparts upon his students the skills to survive on the street, rather than prevail in unarmed combat sports.
The story follows Mike Terry, a martial arts instructor who teaches his students how to prevail in the real world and come out of any situation.
When an elevation of unfortunate events starting with an encounter of a disturbed lawyer and ranging from problems dealing with money, marriage, and morals, Mike finds it harder and harder to live his honorable life and might have to go against his beliefs which means stepping into the ring.Anyone stepping into this movie expecting an action packed mixed martial arts extravaganza like Undisputed 2 will be disappointed.
This is the only martial arts movie in my collection where I don't care about how well shot and awesome the fight scenes are but with Redbelt I come for the emotional ride and well told and relatable narrative.
I have almost always enjoyed the movies from director and screenwriter David Mamet,because of their ingenious ideas,sharp dialogues and detailed performances.However,there were a few occasions in which I was not completely satisfied with the mechanic of the stories.In other words,on various occasions I could note the gears from the story turning in order to getting to the specific point Mamet wants to lead.That's not a fatal fail,and that does not avoid them from being excellent movies,but that thing makes them to be a little bit rigid.Redbelt represents a significant thematic innovation on his career,offering a very interesting re-interpretation of the martial arts movies; or,better said,from the concepts of honour and nobility on which are based some of the best movies from that genre.Besides,in Redbelt,Mamet left his old tricks aside,so because,of that,the movie feels less rigid than other films from his filmography.As a final result,we have a fascinating movie and I think it is one of his best films,by my humble point of view.Redbelt is the nearest to an action movie directed by Mamet.Spartan was near from that genre,but I think this time we have a more concrete combination of suspense,story and violence.Of course that by saying "action genre",I am not talking about hollow male fantasies with invincible heroes and a lot of special effects.Mamet is more interested on the intellectual aspect of the action and I think the best confrontations from this movie are on the main character's mind.What takes me to the great Chiwetel Ejiofor.In his relatively short career,he has consecrated himself as one of the best contemporary actors; one of those interpreters who have talent for facing any role,like the exuberant travesty from Kinky Boots to the shy concierge from Dirty Pretty Things.I hope to see someday his huge talent to be recognized by awards,but what is more important than that is that he always brings phenomenal performances,as we can see on Redbelt.His acting on this movie is simultaneously detailed,deep and credible.The rest of the cast is also very solid,and the members who mostly stand out are Tim Allen,who surprised me very much with an excellent performance,and Emily Mortimer,who is simply perfect.The screenplay is brilliant and the best element from it is the way in which it shows the interactions between the characters.The only fail from it is that the ending is a little bit predictable.But that is something minor in sight of all the positive elements from this movie.Redbelt is an excellent movie which deserves a very enthusiastic recommendation because of its great screenplay,its perfect performances,and for being very entertaining from the moment it starts to the moment it ends..
While there is no denying a great screenplay is the ideal starting point for any good movie, Mamet's arrogant approach to directing is the very reason his films always feel like lifeless slaves to the written word.
Redbelt is so un-self aware, it honestly believes it can pull off one of the most hamfisted, yet straight faced endings to a martial arts movie since Van Damme's cheesefest Bloodsport.One of these days A Hard Rains Gonna Fall and I sure hope it takes David Mamet the director down the sewer with it.http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/.
What an amazing and powerful film.It just goes to show that Mamet is capable of applying his style to just about any kind of film.I don't know why I discovered this movie by accident, I should be hearing about it from everyone, it's really that good.I won't sit here and go over the plot or anything like that, just wanted to say that I never write comments on films here, as a matter of fact, this is only the 2nd time.This movie is awesome, if you are a fan of David Mamet's films it is absolutely essential to watch as it really shows an evolution and maturity in his work never seen before.The usual gang is all here, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, Rebecca Pidgeon, with everyone putting in a solid performance.
None of the individuals story lines had a proper ending, especially Tim Allen who went missing through most of the movie and after all of the various events, Mike Terry still didn't solve his money problems so it all seemed a bit pointless.
When I started watching this, I wasn't too sure what I was getting myself into, we all watched typical action films; they tend to be a 'no-brainer', well, not this one.The cast could not have been better picked, with strong and convincing performance from Ejiofor, the way he played, made it easier to understand the lead character's essence; not wealth-driven nor money-driven person unlike his wife.
The movie slowed down half way but overall, moved at a steady pace which is where the difference comes with director's vision; he tells the story, tries to get you to know the characters, and this is where I think this film could have been even more than what I saw.I am not a big fan of MMA, but the choreography was brilliant, the movements looked so real.
In David Mamet's "Redbelt," Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is the proprietor of a mixed-martial-arts academy, who - ironic for a business-owner - is opposed on principle to entrepreneurship and competition.
Like most Mamet films the plots are convoluted and sometimes even the characters don't even know what exactly is happening.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is Mike, a martial arts instructor who tries to live his life according to principles, to maintain the spirit of the samurai, while the world around him is crumbling.He is assisted capably by standout performances from Alice Braga (City of God) as the wife who betrays him for money, Emily Mortimer (Paris, je t'aime), who brings everything crashing down, and Max Martini ("The Unit") as his student who upholds the honor of the academy and pays a dear price to do so.
While far from perfect (mostly for a few plot contrivances), Mamet has succeeded in crafting a modern martial arts flick that appears to be grounded firmly in modern, "reality-based" martial arts, and yet still has the attitude of traditional samurai stoicism.In short, the plot involves a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher, Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who becomes haphazardly involved with the Hollywood elite and corrupt Mixed-Martial-Arts promoters after saving a celebrity actor's life (Tim Allen) in a bar-room brawl.
David Mamet just wanted to fill time by adding b-movie elements to his script so he can get to the final fight which was not good, form camera angles to choreography.
This story twists and turns so much that in some areas does not make sense.What should have been a good story just sort of fell apart for small reasons.Bad luck, good luck, no luck, revenge, fight, honor...whatever.Maybe it's just me, but I was looking for some martial arts fighting in a martial arts movie, not just some wrestling.I've seen better moves in The Karate Kid series.Ed Oneil's character didn't even have to be there - as with plenty of the cast...they were pretty much useless or underdeveloped characters.This story needed 20 more minutes to properly end it and structure it - but like so many I watched this week, fell short.A useless suicide, legal cases that don't have any merit, scenes that don't go anywhere...that right...it's a David Mamet film - you should expect that..
Likewise, those coming to Redbelt thinking it is what it appears to be on the face of it (another film in the mould of Never Back Down) will be disappointing that it is not all about the fighting and that the martial arts action is a distant second to the characters themselves.Mamet doesn't forget this though and his writing has all the pitch, pace and rhythm that we have become accustom to.
I have watched this movie when it first came out and by the end of it I was left with a sense of emptiness and confusion, like, what the hell just happened??OK, to be honest I am not a big fan of cheesy dramas with plots were the main character is basically a washed out loser like Mike Terry is portrayed.
Mike Terry easily wins the fight, wipes the dust off and is given a Red belt which in REAL LIFE is the highest achievement in Jiu Jitsu and Martial Arts in general.
Yes, the dialogue is phenomenal, but there's something in the way that every little scene comes together near the end and results in a huge turning point in the film that amazes me.Early on in the film, attorney Laura Black (Emily Mortimer) stumbles into Mike Terry's (Ejiofor) jiu-jitsu gym and accidentally fires a police officer's gun through a window.
I really don't understand how anyone can enjoy watching a martial art movie with such terrible fight scenes.