David Mamet may be the hardest working screenwriter/director alive, or at least he makes it seem that way.
Yet somehow every overwrought action and line of forced dialogue eventually bends to his iron will thanks to actors like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Emily Mortimer who manage to connect the stiffly written characters they play to the breathing human beings we see on the screen.
Ejiofor plays humble Jiu-Jitsu instructor Mike Terry, whose self-run Los Angeles dojo is in danger of closing due to a mountain of debt he has accumulated.
Mike comports himself with the same dignified samurai’s code that he runs his studio. He might seem a cold fish to his fiery fabric designer wife Sondra (Alice Braga), but Mike’s high-mindedness has kept him away from the lucrative yet morally corrupt arena of martial arts competition.
On a rainy night, as Mike’s police officer student Joe (Max Martini) is about to leave the dojo, when attorney Laura (Mortimer) accidentally shoots out a dojo window with Joe’s service revolver.
No charges are filed, but Mike is forced to take a loan from Sondra’s underworld brother to make repairs. It isn’t long before Mike is cornered into competing in a martial arts competition with a $50,000 grand prize.
“Redbelt” is far from a perfect movie. There are far too many subplots for the story to render a satisfying resolution. But there are plenty of unexpected dramatic moments, and surprising performances — not the least of which comes from Tim Allen as a Hollywood star that Mike rescues in a bar fight.
It may be just another Mamet experiment in the limits of dramaturgy, but “Redbelt” keeps the audience guessing.
Rated R. 98 mins.
