Welcome to Movie Monday. On a Monday I pick a movie from the ones I've watched in the last week, and highlight what I think is the film's memorable moment.

This week - The Hurricane





"You ain't tellin' me what to say. I'm runnin' shit around here."







Memorable Moment - I first saw this film many years ago on its release and instantly became intrigued by the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. I read a lot of books on the subject, and I came to admire everything that Carter had endured. In the film, Denzel gives a magnificent performance as Carter moves from boxer to long-term prisoner.

As my memorable moment I've chosen a very powerful scene that occurs not long after Carter is sent to prison for triple-murder. He is put in 'the hole', solitary confinement, for the first 90 days on the inside. In this scene, after being in the dark hole for many days, Carter begins to breakdown. He hears a voice, then sees two other versions of himself - the boxer Rubin, who clearly doesn't want to take any crap from nobody, and the child Rubin, who admits he's scared. The third Rubin, the one witnessing the others, tries to console child Rubin, whilst telling boxer Rubin to shut up.

It's a powerful way to show not only a man losing his hold on his sanity, but also the various parts of ourselves that we all have inside us. In each and every one of us there is the strong one, the fighter, who won't give up. But equally there is the inner child, the frightened one who isn't sure how to survive. Then there is the wise one, who knows that both the strong and weak parts of us are vital to who we are. Carter struggling with these parts of himself is a significant moment in his journey - he learns that he must master his inner life if he is ever to survive a life inside a prison cell.