Mar 23, 2010

HUSTLE AND FLOW

HOW COME YOU CAN'T GET HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT? I COME HOME FROM SEEING A MOVIE THAT IS EASY TO CRITIQUE AND MY FRIENDS SEND ME THEIR REACTIONS AND I END UP PRINTING THEM. NOW, I HAVE "HUSTLE AND FLOW," TO DEAL WITH AND NO ONE IS VOLUNTEERING A WORD - THEY ARE ALL MUTE.
MY DAUGHTER, VALERIE AND MY NIECE, DONNA AND THE CHARLOTTE, N.C. POST WERE ALL IN A QUANDARY ABOUT THIS FILM. I TOO AM IN A QUANDARY
--- - ACCORDING TO WEBSTER -->> PUZZLED / NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO -----
ABOUT "HUSTLE AND FLOW."
ALL THE FOUL LANGUAGE, LOW LIFE, STRIP CLUB, PIMP AND HOE, NO SELF ESTEEM, DRUG CULTURE, IGNORANT, HARDCORE GHETTO STREET LIFE STUFF, IS IN THIS FILM.
A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE TROUBLE SITTING STILL FOR MORE THAN TEN MINUTES OF THE FILM -- IT WILL SEEM TOO TRASHY AND IGNORANT FOR THEM. I WOULD HAVE NO ARGUMENT WITH PEOPLE, WHO WALK OUT AND DEMAND THEIR MONEY BACK.
YET, IF YOU SIT THERE AND ALLOW THE EVENTS TO "FLOW," YOU WILL SEE A REALLY GOOD FILM, BURIED IN THE FILTH, DEPRAVITY AND DELETERIOUS LIFESTYLE, WHICH IS PHYSICALLY PAINFUL TO WATCH.
THESE PEOPLE ARE LIVING AT A LEVEL THAT IS ONE STEP ABOVE THAT OF A ZOMBIE OR VAMPIRE -- THEY ARE THE LIVING DEAD -- THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT.
THINK OF YOUR WORST ENEMY AND YOU WILL SOON SEE, THAT YOU WOULD NOT WISH THIS TYPE OF PSEUDO-EXISTENCE UPON THAT PERSON. YOU COULD NOT HATE ANYONE THAT MUCH WITHOUT BEING CONFINED TO A PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY OR INCARCERATED.
ONLY AN ACTOR OF THE CALIBER OF TERRENCE HOWARD COULD MAKE THIS FILM SUCCEED. ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE WELL ACTED, BUT HE IS THE GLUE THAT MAKES IT WORK, IF YOU CAN HANG IN THRU THE LANGUAGE AND RAP "MUSIC" AND FINALLY SEE THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH ABOUT LIFE, THAT IS BURIED UNDER ALL THE LOW LIFE DETAILS, YOU WILL BE REWARDED.
THIS IS ONCE AGAIN, A PICTURE THAT WILL BE LABELED A BLACK PICTURE AND THAT WILL CUT THE GATE - BUT IF ALL THE CHARACTERS WERE WHITE, IF WOULD BE, " A STRUGGLE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND AN INSPIRATION TO ALL MANKIND."
YET, I FREELY ADMIT AND WARN, IT IS GOING TO BE HARD TO SURVIVE THE HARDCORE STREET SCENARIO, REGARDLESS OF RACE, CREED OR NATIONAL ORIGIN OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES OF BIRTH.
THIS IS WHY FOLKS ARE WRESTLING WITH THE FILM - IT REQUIRES YOU TO HANG IN AND HANG ON - AND EXPERIENCE THE SAME TRANSFORMATION AS THE CHARACTERS.
I HATED "EYES WIDE SHUT" AND "MEET JOE BLACK."
TODD GILCHRIST, A PROFESSIONAL FILM CRITIC AND FAMILY FRIEND, TOLD ME ABOUT THE GREAT UNIVERSAL MEANINGS WITHIN THESE FILMS -- MY REACTION WAS -- BOVINE EXCREMENT.
THAT SAME CHARGE WILL COME MY WAY FROM MANY WHO SEE THIS FILM, BUT JUST WON'T GET PASS THE SURFACE AND SEE THE CHARACTERS BECOME HUMAN BEINGS, AND NOT JUST FOUL MOUTH, TRASH, UNWORTHY OF THE AIR THEY ARE BREATHING..
HUSTLE AND FLOW, AVOIDS THE PHONY RING OF THE "FEEL GOOD PICTURE" -------
*THE BLIND KID WON'T SUDDENLY SEE BECAUSE HE IS A GOOD PERSON
*THE VILLAGE IDIOT WON'T GRADUATE SUMMA CUM GENIUS FROM SPELMAN COLLEGE
*THE HOMELESS GUY, WON'T WIN THE SUPERMODEL AWAY FROM THE RICH GUY,
WITH A 12 BEDROOM MANSION AND A MERCEDES

IN CHARLOTTE, WE LIVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM A PROFESSIONAL INTERIOR DECORATOR.
ON A TOUR OF HIS HOUSE, A SEVEN OR EIGHT ROOM RANCH, I KNEW SOMETHING WAS STRANGE, BUT I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WAS. HE THEN POINTED OUT THE EACH ROOM WAS A LIGHTER SHADE OF THE BROWN COLOR OF THE FIRST ROOM -- THE DIFFERENCE IN EACH ROOM WAS SO SUBTLE, THAT YOU WOULD BARELY NOTICE THE CHANGE WITHOUT GOING FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER. THIS USE OF COLOR WAS VERY EFFECTIVE - MY KNOWING SOMETHING WAS UNIQUE, BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO CITE THE
SOURCE, WAS PROOF THAT THIS TECHNIQUE WORKED.
CRAIG BREWER'S DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE OF THIS FILM'S UNFOLDING IS MUCH LIKE THAT
OF THE DECORATOR - SUBTLE, AMID THE LOUD TALK AND MUSIC OF THE FILM.
THIS IS CRAIG'S FIRST MAJOR FILM AND HE SHOULD BE OSCAR NOMINATED JUST FOR THE SCENE WHERE TERRENCE GOES NEXT DOOR TO ASK HIS NEIGHBOR TO TURN DOWN A STEREO --- THIS IS A SCENE THAT SHOWS HOW GREAT FILM CAN BE WHEN YOU HAVE THE CASABLANCA LIKE COMBINATION OF
EXCELLENT WRITING, ACTING AND DIRECTING.
DIRECTOR JOHN SINGLETON WAS INVOLVED WITH THIS PRODUCTION, BUT IT WAS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MISTER BREWER, A WHITE MAN, AND THERE MUST BE QUITE A STORY ATTACHED TO HIS ABILITY TO RELATE SO WELL TO A STORY THAT IS THIS DEMANDING AND SO CENTERED IN A BLACK COMMUNITY IN MEMPHIS.

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