Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Redbelt [David Mamet, 2008]

  • from beginning to end, Mamet's latest is implausible, stacking up plot contrivances that are ridiculous not because of implausibility but because of stupidity.
  • film is largely a character study, and i understand that, but Chiwitel Ejiofor is the ONLY character among a large cast that gets any kind of development. Ejiofor's wife, played (rather badly) by Alice Braga, is shown only as a whiny bitch. Tim Allen is an action star (stretch!) and mainly just a McGuffin. We're supposed to care about Ejiofor and Emily Mortimer's relationship but we don't because we don't have a clue who she is
  • between the stupid opening involving Mortimer and a suicide, the picture is pretty engaging, as Ejiofor is given room to work. everything afterwards is muddled, and the ending is laughably bad...I'm not going to bother going into it
  • pic is however more entertaining than it is good, as Ejiofor is fun to watch in anything and the fight scenes are often very cool. easily the worst Mamet pic (script or direction) i've seen to date, though
4/implausible and dumb

No comments: