Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike Terry and John Machado as Augusto Silva. Photo: Lorey Sebastian.
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Redbelt (R) ***
By Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
The best directors can take on practically any genre, no matter how hoary or formulaic, and turn a film into something dynamic and interesting by approaching it from their particular vantage point. In Redbelt, David Mamet enters the realm of sports drama and Rocky-underdog clichés and discovers it's a surprisingly good fit.
Redbelt centers on Mike (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a jiu-jitsu instructor in Los Angeles who refuses to use his considerable skills to fight in the lucrative competitive circuit. Although Mike and his wife (Alice Braga) are going through a financial crunch, he respects his art too much to exploit it in the gaudy commercial arena.
But there are many who want Mike to get back in the ring -- and make themselves rich in the process. As is often the case with Mamet's movies (The Spanish Prisoner, Spartan), Redbelt starts out simply enough and gradually becomes trickier and more complex, with an array of secondary characters -- including a junkie (Emily Mortimer), a movie star (an excellent Tim Allen), a Hollywood producer (Joe Mantegna) and a fight promoter (Ricky Jay) -- playing critical roles in Mike's eventual return to the ring.
The always-excellent Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things) gives Mike's conviction weight and substance without making him seem arrogant or foolish: It is critical to Redbelt that you at least empathize with Mike's reluctance to ''sell out,'' despite the obvious success and monetary gain the move would bring him. It is pretty much what Mamet is doing here: Showing you how easy it would be for him to join mainstream Hollywood, but opting to keep doing things his way.
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emily Mortimer, Alice Braga, Tim Allen, Joe Mantegna, Rodrigo Santoro, Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon
Writer-director: David Mamet
Producer: Chrisann Verges
A Sony Pictures Classics release. Running time: 99 minutes. Vulgar language, violence, adult themes.