| HUSTLE & FLOW |
 2005 - USADirector: Craig Brewer
- Reviewed by Vickie
On the one hand, it’s a gritty character study about a pimp with a heart, who wants to rise above his seedy profession and borderline-impoverished existence to pursue his ambitious and somewhat unrealistic dream of becoming a rap star. The film boasts great performances and a compelling story that winds up being remarkably (and surprisingly) moving…despite its profanity-laden dialogue and violent undertones. On the other hand, it could be argued, the film sends a number of troubling messages out to viewers, not the least of which is: ghetto residents are pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and low-lifes, and the only way out of their situation is embrace the cliché of becoming rappers. Not doctors, not lawyers, not teachers. Rappers. Thugs RULE!, it seems to say. Thing is, even with its mixed signals and seeming stereotypes, the movie has a curious sense of heart and soul, and by the time its closing credits rolled, I was almost in tears. Terrence Howard stars as DJay, the aforementioned pimp, who oversees a motley harem of hookers that consists of big-mouth know-it-all stripper Lexus (Paula Jai Parker), skinny skanky Nola (Taryn Manning) and very-pregnant, very-naïve Shug (Taraji P. Henson, who steals the movie). They live together in a dilapidated Memphis row house and scrape together money from tricks and drug sales. It’s not until a chance encounter with an old high-school friend named Keith (Anthony Anderson), a middle-class professional who works recording church choirs and court depositions, that DJay has a lightbulb moment. He’s sitting in, listening to a gospel choir rehearse a song, and begins to cry. He realizes that he wants more out of life. That he wants to be more than a pimp. That he wants to be a rapper. Infused with enthusiasm and eager to get his new career off the ground, DJay enlists Keith and his nebbish technician (DJ Qualls) to produce his music. But, not surprisingly, DJay’s road to stardom is paved with countless obstacles… including himself. Terrence Howard fashions a wholly unique cinematic character with DJay in the most subtle of ways, from his curled hair to his molasses-thick Tennessee drawl and perpetual use of “man” (pronounced “main”) at the end of everything he says. At first, DJay comes off like just another movie hood—a guy who objectifies women, thinks only of himself and obsesses over material goods. But soon, he begins to open up. He becomes vulnerable. You begin to see the desperation that drives his goals. The fear in his heart. His meeting with a former local (Ludacris), who became a rap sensation and from whom DJay hopes to score some contacts, is riveting. The need is palpable. Credit goes to Howard for turning what could have been a two-dimensional role into a three-dimensional person. Equally strong are Henson, who was strangely reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple in her character’s wide-eyed optimism and genuine selflessness. Shug is the warm, fuzzy heart of a film that, given its subject matter, doesn’t seem like it should have one at all. Even Taryn Manning, who ranks right up there with Jena Malone on my list of young actresses I do not enjoy, manages to be watchable. Nola’s support of DJay’s passion, despite what it requires of her, is carved out of her own all-consuming desire to get out of the life she’s been living, and Manning sells it. The film also does a stellar job of creating mood, atmosphere and location. Its run-down sets amid Memphis haze and cigarette smoke, the constant sense of heat and humidity as the characters' cope with the incessant glow of sweat, and the attention to detail (from the plastic sheeting serving as DJay's "windows" to the mismatched car parts) all add color and believability to the mix. I never felt like I was watching actors play around in pretend locations—it smacked of realism, which served the story well. I know I haven't quite articulated why I liked this film as much as I did. Suffice it to say, it elicited a gut feeling from me as a result of the sum of its parts. Precisely how it did that is a mystery... but one I'm not particularly interested in solving. Writer-director Craig Brewer will, no doubt, ruffle some feathers with this movie. Again, its content and setting don’t exactly scream out “commercial success!” and its characterizations may strike some as narrow-minded or even offensive. But look a little deeper than the surface and you’ll find a striking portrait of a man determined to ignore circumstance in favor of personal accomplishment by, as the film repeats, “any means necessary.” |
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Here’s the thing about Hustle—it has two sides.