The Hurricane (1999): Transcending Difficult Places
The Hurricane (1999): Transcending Difficult Places
“Writing is more powerful than a fist can ever be.”
The Hurricane (1999) — now streaming on Peacock and available to rent or buy — is a biopic about the boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who transcends the prison of his mind after being incarcerated for murders he did not commit. It’s an uplifting movie for anyone who needs inspiration to confront darkness within themselves, replace the heaviness of hate with the lightness of love, or sacrifice part of their own life to save someone else's.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie (0:53:41) is when Rubin spars with the demons of his mind for 90 days after being sentenced to a long stretch in the prison’s isolation chamber. This scene is supremely powerful because we see the neurosis of the ego counterbalanced with the compassion of the heart. It’s an onslaught of hate, blame, and forgiveness until Hurricane resolves to transcend it all. He does this by writing.
“Writing is magic. When I started writing, I discovered that I was doing more than just telling a story.”
After seven years in prison, Hurricane publishes the book “The Sixteenth Round” that a young black man named Lesra discovers at a book sale. This is the first book Lesra buys after learning how to read and, captivated by Rubin’s story, starts a correspondence with him through letters. “Sometimes we don’t choose books,” Lesra’s guardian parent Sam says. “They choose us.” After visiting Rubin in prison, Lesra and his guardian parents witness the love Lesra has for Rubin and Rubin for him and decide to dedicate their lives to proving Rubin’s innocence.
In another scene (1:36:09), Lesra and his guardian parents call Rubin from a hotel overlooking the prison. Rubin accepts the call during his gym break. “You see that light? The one that’s blinking?” Rubin looks out the metal grate securing one of the windows by the phone. And he can’t believe it. Miles away, he sees a flicker in the night. “We’re all in this together, and we’re not leaving until we all leave,” says Lesra’s guardian parent Lisa.
The Hurricane teaches us that we can transcend unfortunate situations by overcoming our mental blocks, but that we also need the love and support of friends. For example, years after Rubin writes his book and claims to have transcended the confines of the prison that hold him, he calls Lisa in a hopeless state. “I can’t hear you,” she says. Then, after listening closer, she hangs up and tells everyone, “He says he can’t do the time.” This is when Lesra and his guardian parents decide to move from Canada to New Jersey to be closer to Rubin.
I love this movie because it’s a modern classic that I recently had the pleasure of watching for the first time. My primary interest is in movies made in the 1990s and later, and, for years, it felt like I had seen all the modern classics. Then The Hurricane came along. I was scrolling through movies to watch in the Drama category on Peacock and the scene below was shown as a preview. As a writer, it captivated me. And the movie did the same when I watched it later that day. Seeing how Rubin was able to do the time, and how his friends accepted his fate as their own — no matter what — refreshed my appreciation for the freedom I have.
Fun Fact: The actor Clancy Brown who plays one of the most ruthless prison guards in movie history in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) plays one of the most compassionate prison guards in The Hurricane.
To stay connected to the spirit of The Hurricane (1999), you can purchase the comic at the top of this post as a t-shirt or high quality 12x12 mini poster. I purchase these comic prints myself and place them in this affordable black metal frame.