Rubin "Hurricane" Carter: born in the late '30s; raised in New Jersey, where he's unjustly arrested for assault at the age of 11 and placed in the juvenile prison system; escapes at the age of 19 and joins the army where he becomes a champion boxer; arrested for his escape by a vengeful Paterson, NJ detective; upon his release, rises to become one of the leading welterweight boxers of the '60s;  framed for a triple murder by the same detective, he's sent to jail in 1967; despite numerous legal fights and support from prominent figures like Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan, he remains in jail for almost 20 years until a young man from Brooklyn and a group of Canadians finally obtain the necessary evidence to overturn the conviction.

Carter's life reads like a Hollywood screenplay, so it's somewhat surprising that it's taken almost 15 years for his story to make it to the big screen. That that's the only surprise about this two-and-a-half hour bio-pic is disappointing, but The Hurricane overcomes its inherent predictability and offers an inspiring, well-told tale.

Denzel Washington (certainly no surprise there) plays Carter from his late teen years all the way through to his final release.  Washington (Bone Collector, Malcolm X) is convincing at every step of the way--a testimony to his incredible acting chops. As a young man, he has the bravado to pick a fight in a bar over the smallest slight, and the way Washington moves his head and eyeballs his opponent perfectly captures the arrogance of youth.

Later, as a world-class fighter, his physique and boxing style (honed in a year of training) is credible. And Washington's evolution in jail from someone who would rather spend 90 days in "the Hole" than wear a prison uniform to a man who's content with himself is persuasive.

For better or worse, Washington has done all this before. Like Morgan Freeman before him (though without the stint in Electric Company), Denzel has become typecast as the dignified, sophisticated, always-in-control black man. From this year's Bone Collector and last year's He Got Game all the way back to Malcolm X (which is subtly honored in Hurricane) and A Soldier's Story, Washington has made a career of playing these characters. Yes, his portrayal in The Hurricane is fine work, but it also doesn't feel like much of a stretch.

On the other hand, Vicellous Reon Shannon's turn as Lesra Martin, the teenager who first read Carter's book and was inspired to contact and then befriend the jailed boxer, is both fresh and thoroughly enjoyable. Shannon's (Can't Hardly Wait) exuberance and chemistry with Washington are palpable, and his story of an illiterate boy becoming a lawyer is the real inspiration in the movie. When Lesra first reads Carter's book, the audience is drawn into his excitement; when Lesra goes to visit Carter in jail, his nervousness is perfect. And as he introduces his friends to Hurricane, his entrance into this adult world is captured with grace and clarity. While it's understandable why Carter's life gets most of the screen time, my favorite parts of the film were following Lesra's development.

The other heroes of the story--three Canadians played by Liev Schreiber (whose great performance in A Walk on the Moon has been sadly overlooked), Deborah Unger (Payback) and John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral)--are thankfully only so much wallpaper. Though they're responsible for Lesra's escape from poverty and the legwork in getting Carter freed, the movie downplays those accomplishments to focus on Lesra and Carter. As my friend Garth noted, it's nice to see a movie that doesn't elevate the white liberals onto the highest pedestal.

Director Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, In the Heat of the Night), whose long, illustrious career has earned him four Academy Award nominations, brings the story to screen effectively if not efficiently. While the guidelines for a bio-pic are followed throughout, Jewison's direction and Roger Deakins' (Kundun, Fargo) photography sets the stage for a fine set of acting performances. Please excuse a critic who's sat through far too many 160-minute treatises this season if he complains about another film that's longer than it needs to be. On the other hand, no complaints here for a soundtrack that actually uses songs to amplify the story rather than just sell records. Telling a worthwhile story isn't always the easiest task. At that level, The Hurricane succeeds.

J. Robert Parks 1/14/2000