Norman Jewison directed Denzel Washington to one of his all-time best performances in The Hurricane, which marks its 25th anniversary. Released in 1999, Jewison had an interest in telling Rubin “Hurricane” Carter’s story going back to the early 1990s.

While obviously inspired by real-life events, some characters are composites or created solely for the screen. The opening disclaimer also states that a number of incidents are fictionalized. We know this is definitely the case with regards to the depiction of Joey Giardello. How many instances altogether, I do not know. Is it possible that the fictionalized aspects are what led to the film being overwhelmingly snubbed during awards season? It’s quite possible.

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (Denzel Washington) should have never been in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He ultimately gets his redemption after Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon) picks up his book and writes him a letter. One letter turns into two and then ultimately, a fight for Carter’s freedom with the help of Sam Chaiton (Liev Schreiber), Terry Swinton (John Hannah), and Lisa Peters (Deborah Kara Unger). The Canadians joined up with Carter’s legal team, Myron Beldock (David Paymer) and Leon Friedman (Harris Yulin. After two jury trials resulting in a guilty verdict, things were looking good. Even taking new evidence into account, by passing the state court system and going directly to federal court was a huge risk.

Judge H. Lee Sarokin (Rod Steiger), a federal judge appointed by Jimmy Carter, could have tossed out the case. Instead, he ruled the previous trials “were predicated on an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure.” Freedom at last for Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. An interesting side note is that following his retirement, Judge Sarokin would blog in supported of those who were wrongly convicted. He passed away last summer while Jewison died earlier this year–Rubin Carter preceded both, dying in 2014.

Not that I’m trying to stick to a Bob Dylan theme or anything but the singer wrote his most powerful song of the 1970s–“Hurricane,” a song about Carter–after reading the boxer’s 1974 autobiography and visiting him in prison:

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, ‘My G-d, they killed them all!’
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin’ that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

This really speaks to the activism with Carter’s wrongful conviction. Dylan performed a few benefit concerts in the lead-up to the 1976 trial. You wouldn’t know this film the film. Mind you, there is so much about Carter’s life that does not make it into the film. The spirit of his life, yes. The pertinent details, yes. Everything? Nope.

Jewison is drawn to films that tell a story about the social condition. He viewed film as being a form of literature. In the making-of featurette, Jewison says “we should approach film from the standpoint of what the film really has to say about us as a people.” Make no mistake that this is what happened here. In a perfect world, the justice system would work and Carter would have been free from the get-go. Instead, racism plays a role and Carter sat in prison for way too many years. It took the involvement of an American teenager and three Canadians to get Carter’s case before a judge again. Without them, who knows if there would even be a film? In the same featurette, Carter said he would never a change a minute of his life.

Denzel Washington’s work in this film is just astounding as he transforms himself into Rubin Carter. I cannot say enough good things about his work. You can tell that he really dedicates himself to his craft by how much he trained for the film. In another universe, maybe the Academy would have awarded Denzel with the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Alas, it didn’t happen and that’s a damn shame.

Behind the camera, cinematographer Roger Deakins doesn’t get stylish, if at all. Rather than the “big camera moves” that one might expect from Deakins for the fights, he gives the film “a low-key approach” according to the 2021 Norman Jewison biography by Ira Wells. All in all, Deakins puts in stupendous work as usual.

John Ketcham had owned the rights to Carter’s life story. Meanwhile, producer/co-writer Armyan Bernstein had a relationship with the Canadian activists that worked to free Rubin Carter. It’s quite possible that The Hurricane might have never happened without Bernstein. He was rather persistent in getting Carter’s approval. It was so much that he was willing to throw out screenplay after screenplay if Carter wasn’t happy. At the same time, tensions behind the scenes led to Jewison nearly walking away from the film. Though at another point in time, it may have been a TV miniseries. Of course, in this day and age, it would probably be a limited series rather than a film–it would certainly allow for more history than fiction to make its way into the narrative.

The Hurricane features stellar work from Denzel Washington but it also speaks to the overwhelming amount of injustice taking place in the American criminal justice system.

DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison
SCREENWRITERS: Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon
CAST: Denzel Washington, John Hannah, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber, Vicellous Reon Shannon, David Paymer, Dan Hedaya, Harris Yulin, Debbi Morgan, Clancy Brown, and Rod Steiger, Chuck Cooper, Badja Djola, Vincent Pastore, David Lansbury, Al Waxman, Garland Whitt, Beatrice Winde, Bill Raymond

Universal Pictures released The Hurricane in theaters on December 29, 1999. Grade: 4/5

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