Redbelt (2008) For those unfamiliar with David Mamet, the Chicago-born writer and director of Redbelt, he is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker who has penned the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross and written Hoffa, Wag the Dog, Ronin, and most notably The Untouchables. His directing experience is limited and in recent years he has taken to doing television work on The Shield and The Unit. Redbelt is Mamet's latest screenplay, the last being Edmond (2005). Redbelt isn't about mixed martial arts or Brazillian jiu-jitsu. Any sport or profession can be swapped into the story without too much alteration. Redbelt is about respect and discipline. Much like Ronin, Redbelt features a main character obsessed with his own code of honour and the sacrifices that must be made to maintain it. Though the film features cameos from several prominent mixed martial arts personalities it is unconcerned with competition, focusing instead on the merits of inner growth and purity. The main character Mike Terry, played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster, Children of Men), is a Brazillian jiu-jitsu instructor struggling to balance business and pride. As the film begins Terry and his wife Sondra, played by Alice Braga (I Am Legend), are in dire straits, and as the film progresses their relationship becomes more strained. Terry is presented with an opportunity to bail out his business and possibly his marriage--but at great cost to his all-important honour. In the opening scene of the film Terry is instructing his star pupil Joe Collins, played by Max Martini (CSI: Miami, The Unit). Collins is rolling with another student when Terry tells him to "take the fight out of [his] face". This line sets the tone for the rest of the film and also serves as creed for Terry, who is stoic and emotionally detached thoughout. Though he is in nearly every scene in the film, Ejiofor's subdued performance never gets in the way of the story arc. I said the film wasn't about MMA but it still features cameos from Randy Couture, Frank Trigg, Enson Inoue, Ray Mancini, Mike Goldberg, and JJ Machado. Couture is cast as the colour commentator for the generic IFA (International Fighting Association) and does a reasonable job playing himself. He is used to describe MMA to his television audience, which naturally is the films audience, and does so competently. Trigg has a non-speaking role as a fight trainer, while Goldberg and Machado pop onto the screen in a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-them capacity. Redbelt doesn't take strides to pay respects to the Gracie family or to The Ultimate Fighting Championship, but careful viewers will note that both are mentioned in the fake fighter biography for Terry in an IFA pamphlet. The IFA tournament is set up in a simliar way to the original UFC events, or to current WAMMA events, but Mamet is clever enough not to fall into that karate film convention completely. Instead, the cliche is used as a device to drive the story towards its climax in an indirect way. The fighting sequences in the film are shot in such a way as to demonstrate the intent of the fight with the style it is shot in. Training sequences in the Los Angeles gym are techincal and impersonal while action scenes later in the film take on a sharper edge. None of the fight scenes use long shots and most are from close-up so viewers hoping to see good grappling and transitions are going to have to settle for the occasional armbar or choke attempt. Slams and knee strikes that have more to do with judo and Thai boxing are worked into the film for on-screen effect but nothing feels too over-the-top so as to break the illusion. The film is deliberatly paced and has been criticized as being slow and disorganized. According to Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, "so gifted is Mamet as a writer and director that he can fascinate us even when he's pulling rabbits out of an empty hat." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone claims "with uncanny skill, Mamet directs the movie like a moral combat sport." There is a seriousness to the film that, as a sports movie, would be akin to an effort such as The Program (football) or Raging Bull (boxing). As such it is totally dissimilar to other MMA films such as Never Back Down, which I won't be reviewing as I've already seen The Karate Kid. The film is engaging throughout and though the gauntlet of opposition and plot devices crammed into the final act are a bit overwhelming it seems to me that the bar has been set for films dealing with MMA. Its not on par with Raging Bull but if someone made a list of the greatest sports films of all time, the MMA category would show Redbelt. In terms of overall success as a drama, Redbelt is above average but will probably go unnoticed by those without predisposition towards the sport.
