Hustle and Flow

Terrence Howard is convincing as the contemptible pimp and dealer in Hustle and Flow.

(Herald rating * * * )

First-time director-writer Craig Brewer's Hustle and Flow is a grittier and rougher film than you'd expect from an MTV production.

Devoid of the typical high-school themes and moralising, it captures the grim reality of a hip-hop artist from the wrong side of the tracks attempting to make something out of himself by becoming a successful recording artist.

Brewer has created the perfect dead-end feel. Hustle and Flow, set in a rundown area of hot and humid Memphis, is filled with characters on the fringe of society who appear to have been forgotten by the real world.

DJay is a pimp, drug dealer and hustler who lives with and works three girls.

He finds himself at a point in his life where he's thinking about his own mortality, and the daily drudgery of trying to make a buck begins to overwhelm him. Bordering on a mid-life crisis, DJay is aware that life is passing him by and that this may be all it has in store for him.

When he bumps into old school friend Key (Anderson), a recording engineer, DJay's aspirations to become a hip-hop artist come flooding back. DJay manages to convince Key to help him record some tracks, much to the displeasure of Key's churchgoing wife.

Howard's performance as DJay shows why he was nominated in the Academy Award Best Actor category. DJay isn't a nice guy, but Howard's DJay isn't just full of hard streetwise talk. Howard's ability to create a vulnerable, complex character will soon have you backing a man who is basically a despicable guy.

Hustle and Flow has excellent performances, good music (including the Oscar-winning Best Song It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp) and it's no surprise it received the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

You don't have to be a fan of hip-hop to enjoy this film. It is not so far from a typical follow-your-dreams story, but it's told in an authentic manner, with grit and sweat.

CAST: Terrence Dashon Howard, Ludacris, D.J. Qualls, Anthony Anderson
DIRECTOR: Craig Brewer
RUNNING TIME: 114 minutes
RATING: R16, contains violence, drug use, offensive language and sex themes.
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts, Berkeley