Redbelt (2008/Sony Blu-ray + DVD-Video/Martial Arts Drama)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: B/B-     Extras: B     Film: B

 

 

David Mamet’s talents as a writer are inarguable, from his plays to films made based on them by other directors, including The Verdict, the remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, De Palma’s The Untouchables and Frankenheimer’s Ronin, despite dropping his name from the project.  However, I have not always been as happy with his directing.  Despite being consistently ambitious, there has always been a disconnect between image and content that has remained awkward since he helmed House Of Games back in his 1987 directorial debut.  Maybe it is the subject matter, a personal breakthrough or work on TV shows like The Shield and The Unit sharpening his skills where they were weakest, but Redbelt is a giant step forward with few problems.

 

The underrated Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children Of Men, Kinky Boots, Talk To Me, American Gangster) is Mike Terry, the married instructor of a Jiu-Jitsu school just trying to make ends meet, but things look bright with the support of his wife, some good friendships and the hope of expanding his business if he can just make it through some initial rough times.  However, one night of a strange set of events throws off everything and his ability to recover from them will test everything about his character.

 

A lawyer (Emily Mortimer) accidentally scrapes Mike’s car while losing control of hers and is an emotional wreck, then enters the school to explain when his police officer student tries to help her.  He has left a gun out and she grabs it and fires it in panic at his direction, breaking the school’s main window!  The cop declines to press charges and that should have been the end of it, but others are lurking to take advantage of Terry, including his vast knowledge on the subject.  This includes some very seedy types involved in marketing a new branded version of mixed martial arts to challenge boxing on stage and TV, where the lucrative dividends are high and dirty.

 

At first, the film began like so many Mamet works, with intelligent dialogue, a realistic situation and raw interactions with the characters, but instead of slowly imploding when in his hands, the film suddenly became involving and I was sitting there surprised at how good this was and smoothly it played out.  Supporting performances by Alice Braga, Mamet favorite Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jennifer Grey and even Tim Allen are dead-on and rarely is a false note hit.  Then it builds up to its great conclusion and though I though a few of the plot points to get there were contrived, it did not hurt the terrific payoff that I was not expecting.  Mamet loves the sport and way of life and he has put it up on the screen in a poetic way that makes the big statement that speaks volumes about the times we live in.  I would have loved to see the film become a surprise hit in theaters, but Redbelt is gaining a reputation and you will be hearing about it soon enough.

 

Most martial arts films have been bad B-movies that have marred the reputation of the actual arts, but for real serious fans of these arts and filmmaking, Redbelt is the best film of its kind since Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and should be seen as soon as possible!

 

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was lensed by the amazing Robert Elswit, A.S.C., who won the Academy Award last year for There Will Be Blood (reviewed elsewhere on this site) and this is as impressive a shoot, but the slight softness throughout on this Blu-ray is my only disappointment as this should have been sharper and clearer, but it is still better than the anamorphically enhanced low-def DVD which has some weak Black and should have also been better.  The sound fares better in both formats, with Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes on both, but the several Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes on the Blu-ray (especially the English) is better and for a dialogue-based film makes more of a difference than you might expect.  Stephen Edelman’s score forwards the narrative nicely and sound design is pretty good.

 

Extras include BD Live enabled functions exclusive to the Blu-ray, but both formats have the same bonus content including a Q&A with Mamet, Interview with Dana White, behind-the-scenes featurette, Inside Mixed Martial Arts featurette, Fighter Profiles, The Magic of Cyril Takayama featurette and solid feature length audio commentary with Mamet and co-star Randy Couture.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo