Norman Jewison's career as a director spans 4 decades and features some 23 films, including "In the Heat of the Night" in the 60s, "Fiddler on the Roof" in the 70s and "Moonstruck" and in the 80s, all of which earned him academy award nominations for best director, but never an oscar. Now, "The Hurricane," released in the 90s may see him with yet another nomination, but probably no gold statue.

Jewison brings us the story of a boxer named Rueben Hurricane Carter from New Jersey who could have been the champion of the world, except he was wrongfully imprisoned for murder. Like Bob Dylan's song of the 70's the film dances around the facts of Carter's story, such that unless you have prior knowledge of the case, or do some research afterward, the facts will not be clear just by watching the movie.

The film begins, for example, with an artful collection of scenes from Carter's life. The scenes jump from his childhood to various stages of his imprisonment, and while skillfully presented, they jumble the narrative and are ultimately confusing.

But the point is clear. Rueben Carter was a victim of the system for over twenty years. It's the why and how that get lost in the mix. The villain of the movie is a fictional cop named Della Pesca, who hates Carter from the moment he lays eyes on him. The Della Pesca character serves as a poetic device for depicting the system, but also lessens the racial tension inherent in the story by villifying one man instead of the whole system. Still, you can't cram an entire life and years of legal battles into a two hour movie.

The film is most successful in conveying the victory of the human spirit. Carter explains that as he sat in his prison cell he read the stories of other's who were imprisoned. And he wrote his own story. A book which is read by a young American lad named Lazra, who is originally from New Jersey, but currently lives in Canada. After reading the book, Lazra wants to meet Carter, and then becomes the catalyst to his freedom. The scenes between Carter and Lazra are the most touching in the film.

Denzel Washington, as Rueben Carter, is brilliant. Much has been made of Washington's physicality in the film. Carter himself even said that he didn't know he was so good looking until he saw Denzel on the screen. But it's much more than that. Denzel conveys Carter's driving determination and struggle to survive against all odds that gives courage to everyone watching the movie. At times crushingly sad, the Hurricane is ultimately moving and uplifting.