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'Redbelt' a good take on deceit

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By Linda Cook | Tuesday, May 13, 2008 12:48 PM CDT | () comments

(Contributed photo)

Con builds up on con in David Mamet’s “Redbelt,” a story about betrayal, greed and the fight circuit.

If you’re a fan of Mamet’s other projects, such as “The Spanish Prisoner,” “Spartan” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” you won’t be disappointed in his latest take on deceit.

The versatile Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Dirty Pretty Things”) stars as Mike Terry, a jiu-jitsu instructor who operates a small store-front school in Los Angeles. Although Mike is a talented fighter, he refuses to enter competitions.

A bizarre accident connects a nervous attorney (Emily Mortimer, “Dear Frankie”), a cop named Joe (Max Martini) who is earning his black belt, and Mike. The lawyer has come to the school to seek help after she has been assaulted, and then she causes an accident that could have repercussions for the cop and Mike.

The accident results in the window to the shop being broken. Mike and his wife (Alice Braga), who have little cash on hand, are forced to ask her brother for a loan so that the window can be boarded up immediately. Mike happens to be on hand when a well-known actor (played wonderfully by Tim Allen) gets into a bar fight.

The actor tries to repay Mike by giving him an expensive watch and by asking Mike and his wife to his home. Mike’s new associations become ever more complex as he becomes acquainted with a producer (Joe Mantegna) and a fight promoter (magician Ricky Jay). Even though Mike needs money and he realizes he could solve his financial woes by going on the fight circuit, he continues to hold out.

It’s true that the ending, which comes suddenly and almost unexpectedly, requires suspension of disbelief. I didn’t care — this is a moral tale told with Mamet’s strange, choppy dialogue that I always have loved hearing, and characters that rarely are what they seem. I like the way magicians and illusion are portrayed, and the fine line that Mamet draws between illusion and deception.

Ejiofor is a terrific performer — you might recognize him from “American Gangster” or “Children of Men” — and it’s a pleasure to see him cast in this leading role. Also, Allen proves himself an impressive dramatic actor in a serious film.

Mamet isn’t for everybody. But if you’ve liked his work before, you’re certain to enjoy the enigmatic “Redbelt,” too.

‘REDBELT’

Rating: 3.5 stars

Running time: 100 minutes.

Rated: R for foul language and violence.