I saw Training Day last night and was pretty impressed with Denzel’s performance as a black man. I’m not sure how to read the whole Oscar thing, however — did Oscar give him an award for definitively playing a black male (finally! and you hear sweat wiped off the brows of Hollywood folk) or did he deserve the role, the award, and the recognition (finally! and you hear sighs of relief from the mouths of Hollywood folk). I mean, Denzel’s role was extraordinary and the filming of him was strong – I loved the messy, blurry scenes of him or of neighborhoods flying by in that dream-car (Monte Carlo) he rode. And Ethan Hawke – he looked scrawnier in this role than he ever has before. I’m not sure he was miscast, but what’s difficult is to match his brights and brawn with the character needs to fill for the film. One line I hated: “I heard this area is a jungle.” Who wrote that? The author’s brother, Billy?
Overall, a powerful film, but one that asks us to think twice about Oscar and race.