There is no situation you cannot turn to your advantage.
It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my personal tastes and those of the people who determine what is "popular" culture had little overlap. This has become even more pronounced since my move to Indiana, which is why when, say, a new David Mamet film opens at the local multiplex, I jump on it without hesitation. Hence my presence at the five o'clock showing of Redbelt today, which was attended by three other people who kept getting up and wandering in and out of the theater. I don't know how much Mamet thought a film about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (a fundamentally reactive form of martial arts) was going to electrify audiences, but even if it doesn't it's really just the window dressing for yet another one of his expeditions into the world of con men.
Mamet has a great affinity for the long con, having employed them in films ranging from his directorial debut House of Games to Homicide, The Spanish Prisoner and Heist. Even more lighthearted fare like his comedies Things Change and State and Main involve one (or more) characters having the wool pulled over their eyes. In Mamet's world it's possible for just about anybody to be fooled as long as there are enough conspirators lined up against them. The subject of the con in Redbelt is martial arts instructor Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose Jiu-Jitsu academy is perpetually in financial trouble, much to the consternation of his wife Alice Braga, a clothing designer whose business has to pick up his slack. I won't go into too much detail because the joy of watching a Mamet film is in discovering along with the main character how they got in deep and who engineered it, but there does come a time where Ejiofor, who is too principled to fight in martial arts competitions, is coerced into doing so.
As always, Mamet employs a terrific supporting cast, with numerous actors who have been mainstays in his plays and films since day one. These include the great Ricky Jay as a fight promoter, Joe Mantegna as a movie producer, David Paymer as a loan shark, and Matt Malloy as a crooked lawyer, with Mamet first-timers Emily Mortimer as a more upright lawyer who comes to Ejiofor's aid when the chips are down and Tim Allen as an action movie star (who's actually quite credible in the role) whose wife is played by Rebecca Pidgeon (who also co-wrote and performed three songs for the film). If Allen's casting seems peculiar, there's something about appearing in a Mamet film that lends gravitas to just about any actor. Even Ed O'Neill, who had a more substantial role in Mamet's Spartan, shows up in a brief cameo. If nothing else, one can count on Mamet's films to be filled with familiar faces -- even if you can't always place the names.
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craigjclark) wrote,
