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How could the tale of a rough talking Memphis pimp be so inspiring? HUSTLE & FLOW just goes to show you the power of cinema.

DJay (Terrence Howard, CRASH) is a low-rung pimp, who hustles for scrawny white prostitute Nola (Taryn Manning, 8 MILE), pregnant and shy Shug (Taraji P. Henson, FOUR BROTHERS) and cocky stripper/whore Lexus (Paula Jai Parker, PHONE BOOTH). DJay desperately wants a better hand than life has dealt him. He’s smart, but angry, and has a powerful need to be heard.

One day he meets up with a guy named Clyde (Anthony Anderson, MY BABY’S DADDY), who he knew from high school. It turns out that Clyde, known as Key, records singers on the side. Like DJay’s dream to becoming a rapper, Key wants to be a music producer and own his own studio. After DJay proves he has the talent, Key enlists Shelby (DJ Qualls, THE NEW GUY), a talented musician, to help them cut a demo tape. Getting everyone’s hopes up, DJay promises that he knows successful rapper Skinny Black (Ludacris, CRASH) and will be able to give him the demo.

The film has a great love for its characters who all desire to improve their lives and follow their dreams even if they haven’t found their dreams yet. One of the treats of the film is how it takes its time to show the processes of creating a song.

DJay can be a real mean jerk, but he also has a soft spot for his girls and a real vulnerability. Terrence Howard has exploded onto the scene this year, appearing in this film as well as CRASH, FOUR BROTHERS, GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’ and the TV’s movie LACKAWANNA BLUES. He deserves an Oscar for this film, but might only get a consolation nomination for CRASH, because the Academy might not see that it ain’t easy bein’ a pimp. I can’t stress more how good he is in this film — easily one of the top five performances of the year.

Even less likely to receive a nomination, but no less deserving, is Henson as the slow, shy prostitute that might as well be the definition of the whore with the heart of gold. Just the thought of her character makes me tear up. Manning, Qualls and Anderson also provide their best work to date and Ludacris shows again that he isn’t a rapper who acts, but an actor who also raps. In addition, Elise Neal (SCREAM 2) has a nice role as Key’s wife, a conservative woman who doesn’t really like the fact that her husband is spending so much time at a pimp’s house.

The ending is also a nice surprise from what you may expect. DJay is a good rapper, but he’s an even better hustler. You don’t need to like rap to enjoy this film. It’s a universal tale about following your dreams. It’s a really, really good film.