A Fight worth Fighting For!

“Who imposes the term of the battle will impose the terms of the peace”

The latest from playwright / screenwriter / mixed-martial-artist enthusiast David Mamet, leaving his prolific upbringing in the dramaturgical (Oleanna, The Winslow Boy, The Spanish Prisoner) and adds on to his list of action films (Spartan, Heist, “The Unit” television show). The film acts, feels and talks like a Mamet film but plays towards the convention of a Kung Fu flick. “RedBelt” is a morality play, if noticed, and a mash up of sleight of hand storytelling and samurai honor. A film that borrows from so many genres (kung fu flicks, noir, thriller and law room interrogation) that it deserves a genre unto itself. It is that good, original and entertaining without pandering.

The regulars from the Mamet workshop are all here: Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay and Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet’s wife). And here are the newcomers that are getting put through the ringer: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emily Mortimer, Tim Allen and Alice Braga. The cat-and-mouse that apply to a fixed boxing match now infused into a raw new sport. As Randy Couture (UFC Alumnus) says, “ Boxing is as dead as Woodrow Wilson”. I think he might be on to something. Thrill of boxing is gone, but the con games are still on.

“A man distracted is a man defeated”.

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, an owner of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dojo who shouts out philosophical one-liners after another. His terms are that he does not teach people how to fight, but how to prevail. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays this with such force that he reminds me of Charles Bronson with a nappy Afro. The opening with Mike Terry sparring with one his own students suggests the type of camaraderie you get in Roadhouse. He paces back and forth telling him to breathe and, “Find an escape”. The student played by Max Martini (from Mamet’s show “The Unit”) gives up all hope and surrenders on the floor in a choke hold, Terry rebukes by telling him, “ You got tired, do not get tired. Let the other guy get tired”.
On a stormy night, a woman (Emily Mortimer) comes into the dojo and asks for help. In Mametian rapid exchange dialogue, Terry asks his student to take her coat for her and she jumps grabbing a gun and shooting the window. Like such improbability the dialogue carries the film. It’s a distraction for goofs, but it never mask the film’s true core. One accident leads to another that is brought up by Terry’s wife Sondra (played by Alice Bragga) telling him he has no money. A master in his own league and has to deal with the problems of rent and insurance. Like most Mamet films, finding money leads into the seedy sides of humanity. In this case, show business.

Soon discovering that his student was not getting paid at a nightclub owned by his wife’s brother. He goes on a quest to find out why and never gets a straight answer. This leads him to Chet Frank (Tim Allen) in a bar room tryst that showcases Terry’s skills. The camera follows the MMA moves in tight frantic close-ups. It never gets choppy and shows Terry’s philosophies come to life. It reminds me of that bar room fight in Steven Seagal’s “Out for Justice”, except more realistic. This encounter intrigues Chet to invite this man over for dinner. Terry realizing this will help his money woes soon realizes what price he might pay. Chet Frank is not always who he seems. Chet thinks Terry’s art and philosophies would be some assistance in his latest film, and makes him a producer.

Terry gives him his ideas on combat, which are later stolen by Chet’s manager Jerry Weiss (Joe Mantegna) and his publicist Marty Brown (Ricky Jay). Welcome to show business. Terry is overwhelmed by the double cross that he realizes the real motive was for to him compete in an under card for $50,000. Terry’s rule is to never compete, because there is no competition. He is not cocky, but realizes it is all show. He is pushed to enter the competition and realizes the unethical practicality of this “show”. He leaves the event in hopes of never compromising his integrity. As he exits he realizes he cannot go without one last fight.

The performances are good, especially Emily Mortimer playing a lawyer who was raped. She comes to Terry for assistance in defense, but first she has to, “Leave the outside with the outside”. Terry jumps her with a toy knife around her neck and asks her, “Where can you move”. Mortimer cries and shifts to the right leaving his shoulders exposed and he ask her, “Can you stab me? STAB ME”. Mortimer stabs him repeatedly shedding tears consistently. A scene like this would have been really sappy, but it was handled with such care.
Ricky Jay is an unsung hero from the Mamet canon, who provides laughs with his role as Marty Brown. A lot of MMA’s greats have cameos in this film such as Randy Corture and John Machado. I like Ricky Jay’s conversation with a promoter who says that his fighter was the biggest star in Brazil, Ricky Jay retorts, “Well, have you read the street signs here. Their American”.

Robert Elswit who did the cinematography on “There Will Be Blood” and a regular for Paul-Thomas Anderson film lends a new texture to the action. They both have good taste in director of photography, with Elswit usage of emphatic close ups and lighting amongst the actors. The spacious tight scope of Terry’s “academy” gives the sense that this is “his world” and everything outside means nothing. The bright red in the dojo and shadowy outside streets gives us the feel that we need Terry’s teachings to survive. Feng shui and minutiae seem an attribute to Mike Terry and Mamet alike.

David Mamet has been vocal about Hollywood, show business and film. My favorite quote from him being, “Movies possess unlimited power to entertain. They have, however, no power whatever to teach”. An entertaining film this is, yet with social commentary on the nature of show business. The film is rushed, crammed and unapologetic about its commentary, but hey what do you expect. This is a David Mamet action film. His brash views on corruption in general can be comparable to Sam Fuller. The cliché of throwing the fight and stolen gold watches gives this noir trope a fresh take and a different setting. Like Pulp Fiction: The Gold Watch segment with Bruce Willis, this film sees a new way out of an old story.