Mamet’s always sort of hit-or-miss for me when he’s working as a director, so I’m a little surprised by how dead-center REDBELT hit me. I think it’s great, and I’ll be reviewing it very soon.
Hey Harry and Martial Artists,
The Acid was bad. The dead hung off lamp posts on Hollywood Boulevard. Mediocre comic artists threw themselves in front of cabs. Smurfs dripped from starlets’ nipples. Posers sucked rectums at the pre-reception of the sneak screening of David Mamet’s Redbelt at the Egyptian Theatre.
Mamet returns with his take on the martial arts genre. I have great admiration for Mamet and look forward to his new works. For me, his dialogue sets a very high quality standard. If most movies tried to have dialogue as good as Mamet’s we’d be better off.
Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) runs a Jiu-Jitsu school so well respected that he trains many police officers. Terry does not compete in the ring despite many promoters desire for him to fight publicly. Terry doesn’t see competition as honorable to his code despite mounting financial troubles.
A movie star in a bar gets into a fight and Terry happens to be there to save his ass. The movie star (Tim Allen) invites him to the set of his Iraq war movie. Terry, who’s also former military, brings such insight to fight scenes that the star makes him a producer. What follows is an elaborate con to get Terry in the ring. It’s a martial arts flick. So you know he’ll get in the ring eventually which makes the con not compelling.
As usual Mamet’s stylized dialogue is on display. His dialogue technique consists of repetition and bouncing back one word in different verbal clothing. A home made example:
“Did he do the spike?”
“The spike was done.”
“Was it smooth?”
“There were difficulties.”
“What difficulties?”
“The broad moved the spike.”
“She moved the spike?”
“Yeah, the spike was moved. But I got it done.”
“We’ll have to spike the broad.”
As fun as the technique is, his dialogue has become about reflecting his technique rather than reflecting life around him. In Glengarry Glen Ross, Mamet wrote of a real boiler room sales office he worked in. His recent films are about putting the Mamet spin on movie genres. Spartan: the political thriller. Redbelt: martial arts. If he keeps going this route he could become a parody of himself.
There are two conflicting elements in Redbelt. On one hand Mamet’s doing a scheme/con movie that’s his bread and butter. On the other he’s doing a martial arts flick with realism and intelligence atypical of the genre. There are so many dangling plot loose ends to the con story that it seems Mamet just didn’t care. One could argue he’s deliberately oblique to make the audience fill in the gaps, but there are enough loose ends to fill four movies. Mamet didn’t care. Why should I? It feels like scenes are missing and another month in the editing room could make the plot clearer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the courage or objective insight to chuck a con plot completely and do a straight up action movie; his Kill Bill if you will.
The action scenes are cut with a staccato rhythm similar to his dialogue. They’re fun. Real fighters and actors were mixed to bring authenticity. It works and it could have made for something much better.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, playing Mike Terry, holds the movie together with a charismatic lead performance. Without him the film would fall apart into a shambles. Between this and his acclaimed work in Talk To Me, Ejiofor is on a hot streak right now. Mike Terry is a unique character in Mamet’s work because he’s a central protagonist who’s straight up, decent, and moral. Most of Mamet’s leads are hustlers, thieves, or shady business men. It’s a refreshing change. Many Mamet stock company actors appear. Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Joe Mantegna are among them.
Overall I enjoyed Redbelt but it fades fast when leaving the theatre. It’s too bad since the central character and underlying story of getting this badass fighter into the ring are good. Maybe Mamet will drop the con pretensions for his next genre effort.
Neon peacocks gouged out eyes. Rabid dildos penetrated every woman exiting the theatre. I fucked the Egyptian cartoons in the wall.
-Psychedelic
