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Film

Humanizing a hustler

Hustle & Flow takes moviegoers inside the desperate world of a small-time thug.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published July 21, 2005

Only a low-rent pimp and pusher like DJay could think being a gangsta rapper is the best way to go straight. At least he'd be flowing about slapping tricks, dealing weed and busting a cap in a rival, rather than doing it.

Hustle & Flow is DJay's story, which except for its seedy Memphis locale and harsh realities isn't very different from every other star-is-born screen fantasy, from 42nd Street to Glitter. But seldom is the cliche presented with such raw energy, with such a palpable sense of desperation for the characters if fantasies don't come true. Writer-director Craig Brewer, a white Memphis native, knows these mean streets and the dashed black dreams littering them. The richly informed movie that results is a slightly flawed gem.

DJay (Terrence Dashon Howard) spends his days parked in a beat-up Chevy with one of his girls in the passenger seat; curbside service for johns and marijuana buyers. His small home is shared with four hookers. It's feeling smaller due to petty squabbles and a baby, an unexpected "tip" from a trick. Cops don't bother with small-timers like DJay, but he's feeling the heat from within to go legit. Options aren't limited; they don't exist.

That is, until a customer offers a small Casio keyboard as payment. DJay is offended at first, then childishly curious when he plays a few notes. He thinks about how his classmate Skinny Black composed a crunk radio hit, and starts writing his own lyrics about pimping. DJay knows someone with recording equipment, who knows someone who can lay down a beat. If they can get something on tape - CDs are out of their league - maybe Skinny will give DJay a break.

The outline isn't remarkable, but the details Brewer packs into his film are, including lessons in makeshift musicianship and thug life protocol, and street lingo sounding profanely exotic. On a personal level, each character has a backstory defined with good writing, or suggested by a vacant stare. We've seen pimps, prostitutes, pushers and rappers in movies before, but rarely humanized to this degree, or with such awareness of consequences. Hustle & Flow steers us toward hating the sins, not the sinners.

Howard gives a star-making performance as DJay, smoothly blending the character's dark thoughts and sunnier aspirations, with spot-on expressions and a convincing Memphis drawl. Playing either of those mood swings too heavily would make whatever happens to DJay seem false. Howard, a memorable bit player in Crash and Ray, takes his first leading role by the throat then massages it into one of the finer performances of the year.

He's surrounded by a lot of recognizable actors doing their best work so far: Anthony Anderson swaps the fat buffoon routine for some genuinely moving moments as DJay's partner Key. DJ Qualls (the goofy-looking kid in Road Trip) appears cast for visual comic relief yet manages something deeper. Taryn Manning (8 Mile) adds a nice touch of tainted innocence as DJay's hooker/muse, and Taraji P. Henson is occasionally breathtaking as Shug, a beaten-down woman finding her own sense of achievement in DJay's music.

Hustle & Flow has some ragged edges when Brewer gets distracted by people around DJay, and for all their aggressively cathartic vitality, the recording sequences are a bit long. But the final act is a sweaty stunner, showcasing another impressive turn by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (Crash) as Skinny, and DJay's percolating fear that he'll be back in that Chevy in the morning.

Grade: A-

Director: Craig Brewer

Cast: Terrence Dashon Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, DJ Qualls, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Isaac Hayes

Screenplay: Craig Brewer

Rating; R; harsh profanity, sexual situations, brief nudity, drug abuse, violence

Running time: 114 min.

[Last modified July 20, 2005, 09:57:02]