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WhileDenzel Washingtonproved himself to be a solid dramatic actor on the medical dramatelevision seriesSt. Elsewherethroughout its six-season run between 1982 and 1988, there were persistent doubts regarding whether Washington was capable of becoming a major movie star. These doubts continued with Washington’s Oscar-nominated performance as activist Steve Biko in the 1987 apartheid drama filmCry Freedom, in which Biko is treated as a supporting player in what is ostensibly supposed to be his story. Moreover,Cry Freedomwas a box-office failure.
What Washington needed was a starring film vehicle in which he could demonstrate the ability to occupy a character and their environment through the force of his presence and sheer magnetism. Washington found this with the 1989 mystery thriller filmThe Mighty Quinn, in which Washington plays Xavier Quinn, acharismatic police chiefon a small Caribbean resort island who finds himself embroiled in a complex murder investigation and political intrigue.
As Quinn,Washington displays the charm, robust sense of humor, and sexiness that pure movie stardom is made of. Beyond the physicality and toughness that his character’s occupation requires, Washington radiates the same kind of playfulness and witthat Sean Connery exudesin the early James Bond films. Indeed,The Mighty Quinn, which partly functions as a spy thriller, provides strong evidence that Washington, who was 34 when the film was released and previously adopted a British accent for the 1988 crime drama filmFor Queen and Country, would have been an excellent choice to play Bond, who is undoubtedly one of the dashing Quinn’s heroes.
Denzel Washington’s Xavier Quinn Is a Cop for All Seasons
InThe Mighty Quinn, titled after the Bob Dylan song of the same name, Denzel Washington’s Xavier Quinn is the native chief of police of the Caribbean island he returned to after receiving law enforcement training at thefamed FBI Academyin Quantico. The keen, perceptive Quinn was undoubtedly an excellent student there. He knows his job, and he knows his primary role, which is, as explained to him by the island’s corrupt governor, to avoid embarrassment and trouble at all costs. Within the beautiful, tranquil resort setting of this island, this hasn’t been an especially difficult rule for the generally easygoing Quinn to observe.
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Big trouble indeed arrives in the form of the decapitation and murder of one of the island’s wealthiest residents. The governor pressures Quinn to close the case quickly in order to prevent the bad publicity from hurting tourism. His investigation is complicated by the fact thatthe prime suspect is Quinn’s childhood best friend, Maubee, an amiable petty crook who has, as deliciously played by Robert Townsend, always been, in the words of Quinn’s estranged wife, a lover, not a killer.
The Mighty Quinn Is a Smart, Stylish Thriller
The exotic setting and soothing reggae sounds ofThe Mighty Quinnare emblematic ofa film that constantly shifts the audience’s expectationsthrough an increasingly complex plot in which nothing is quite as it seems.The murder mysterythatThe Mighty Quinnopens with gives way to an underlying conspiracy involving a cache of extremely rare $10,000 United States bills, which were brought to the island by the murder victim, Donald Pater, who is revealed to have had ties with the President of the United States. Moreover, as Pater is found decapitated in a hot tub, Quinn discovers that Pater is already dead.
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Quinn’s twisting investigation encompasses a gallery ofcolorful supporting characters. James Fox, the cool titular star of the great 1973 thrillerThe Day of the Jackal, plays Elgin, a contemptuous local fixer who attempts to block Quinn’s investigation and correctly suspects that he is attracted to Elgin’s beautiful and unhappy wife, played by Mimi Rogers.
Thegreat character actor M. Emmet Walshplays Miller, a cheerfully sinister operative who arrives on the island under the guise of being a representative of Pater’s company but seems more interested in finding the money and tying up loose ends. Esther Rolle plays the island’s resident witch, Ubu Pearl, who has vital information about the murder and threatens to place a curse on Quinn if he enters her house until he tells her that he’s already cursed.
Washington’s Performance in The Mighty Quinn Is Oscar-Worthy
IfThe Mighty Quinnhad been released by a major Hollywood studio with a strong marketing campaign,Denzel Washington’s great performance, which received excellent critical reviews along with the film itself, would definitely have inspired serious Academy Award speculation. Moreover,The Mighty Quinn, which is based on the 1971 novelFinding Maubee, could have launched a Xavier Quinn film series if the movie had been a box-office hit. However, the film, which was released by the then languishing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in less than 250 theaters in February 1989, fell through the proverbial cracks at the box office, whereThe Mighty Quinngrossed less than $5 million.
Despite the film’s box-office failure,The Mighty Quinnheralded major film stardom for Washington, who followed the movie with his Oscar-winning performance as Civil War soldier Silas Trip in the 1989 historical war drama filmGlory. Within a glorious career that’s now encompassed two Oscar wins and spanned more than 40 years, Washington has never been better and more exciting as a screen actor than he is inThe Mighty Quinn.The Mighty Quinnis streaming onTubi.
