Dir. Craig Brewer, US, 2005, 116 mins
Cast: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning
The streetwise hustler and pimp of the title is DJay (Howard), who has a way with words and a dream of doing something with his gift for freestyle rapping (his flow). When he bumps into an old friend Key (Anderson), who is a sound engineer and they team up with church musician Shelby (D.H. Qualls) it looks like DJay's dreams could come true.
I say DJay has a way with words, but when the movie started my heart sunk, as I didn't understand a word of his first philosophising speech because of his heavy Memphis street accent. After a while though, with a bit of patience, you find yourself tuning in and appreciating DJay's original and poetic use of the language. I'm also not keen on rap with its four letter word lyrics, or on stories of pimps and hookers for that matter, but in this case the characters won me over. Particularly Howard in a very different role from the middle class victim of a racist policeman he played recently in Crash. As DJay he manages to make this potentially unappealing character very sympathetic in his aspiration, even though he does some pretty appalling things, including throwing one of his of girlfriends and her little boy out of the communal home. Shug (Tarji P. Henson) is a bit of a nagging pain, but there are limits!
The setting is depressingly sleazy - an urban wilderness of cheap clubs and min-marts - but the characters are bigger and more sympathetic than their background and each of them has their opportunity to shine. Taryn Manning as DJay's number one girlfriend has a sweet, wistful quality and there's an effective appearance from real life hip hop star Ludacris as the star rapper Skinny Black, whom DJay hopes will make his dream come true. Ludacris, who was also in Crash as the carjacker with a racist chip on his shoulder, is a good actor, who is worth keeping an eye on. And even if, like me, you are not a fan of rap music, in the context of the film, you may well find yourself sharing the characters' enthusiasm.
Although Hustle and Flow is yet another variation on that well worn American theme of "follow your dreams and all you want can be yours", its well conceived characters and sense of urban reality prevent it from falling into the sentimental quagmire, where many others have wallowed.
Carol Allen
|
