Redbelt, the new drama written and directed by David Mamet, dips idealistic jiu-jitsu instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor of Serenity and Children Of Men) into a sordid and back-stabbing world of Hollywood producers, loan sharks, and mixed martial-arts tournament promoters. As his financial troubles rise, Terry has to decide if he will compromise himself by entering the tournaments. Being a Mamet film, don't be surprised that Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, Rebecca Pidgeon, and a bunch of other Mamet players figure into the plot.
I found it generally entertaining, with some slick Mamet dialog, but it didn't really hit it over the fence like I hoped. My hesitation is mostly due to an overly complex plot filled with way too many characters, the sort of thing that was handled far more gracefully with House Of Games. While this is not an action movie, the jiu-jitsu fights are plentiful and intense, even if Mamet shoots far too close like most everyone in Hollywood.
But Ejiofor's performance elevated the whole film for me. He's incredibly soulful and you really believe he's a martial arts master of great integrity. It's fascinating to watch his character think, viewing all the "holds" that life keeps putting him in, looking for the move that will break him free. Despite my reservations, Redbelt is a refreshingly realistic view into the world of martial arts that I'd recommend to students and instructors everywhere.
Everybody needs Jiu-Jitsu. That's why they call it "Jiu-Jitsu". :ph43r:
Caught a matinee of this today--it was me and then one other person walked in during the opening credits. Ejiofor has a great screen presence and I'm certain there's an Oscar in his future, but aside from him and some nice work by Tim Allen(really, the entire cast is good), this left me pretty disappointed. It seemed like Mamet wasn't sure what kind of film he wanted to make: for about 60-70 minutes, it's a typically complicated, riveting Mamet puzzle along the lines of HOUSE OF GAMES or THE SPANISH PRISONER, and then it turns into GLENGARRY FRANK DUX as he tries to wrap things up at a tournament, leaving more questions than answers, even moreso than usual for Mamet. I realize that's a smartass oversimplification on my part, but I left this feeling very frustrated. There aren't even really any great quotable Mamet lines, either. I wanted to like it, and I did most of the way, and I can't really go into it without posting a bunch of spoilers.
This doesn't look to make a lot of money this weekend anyway, with IRON MAN and SPEED RACER ruling the box office, but how many action fans will go see this thinking it's an action-packed martial-arts flick? The ads and trailers that I've seen for this strike me as the most deceptively-marketed wide-release film since BUG.
I didn't much care for it, but it might have found more of a niche had it been released with more finesse by Sony Pictures Classics. It dropped dead on 1,000 screens this weekend, while it might have gained more ground going slower. On the other hand, it's one of those in-between things--neither arthouse nor mainstream--that's hard to place.