Movie
Review | 25th Hour
Reviewed by: Brian
Orndorf
Today isn’t like any other day for Monty Brogan. A high-class
drug dealer who revels in status, Monty has been caught by the cops,
and now faces his last 24 hours of freedom before he must turn himself
in to serve a seven-year prison sentence. Walking around a post 9/11
New York City one last time, Monty spends the day making peace with
his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson), his buddies (Barry Pepper and Philip
Seymour Hoffman), and his father (Brian Cox), all while trying to
figure out who ratted him out to the cops, and dealing with his own
mounting fears of his future.
Spike Lee’s “25th Hour” is a massive two-headed
hydra of a picture. The film represents the first decent story Lee has
worked with since 1994’s sweet “Crooklyn,” but it also remains a
tightly wound, personal film from Lee, and provides a distinct
up-to-date look at New York City. “25th Hour” is about
change and personal choices, and how those choices can lead us down
the wrong path even when we see it coming. Based on the novel by David
Benioff (who also scripts), “25th Hour” is an intensely
introspective piece about what the future, in its inherent regret, has
in store for us. It’s not only Lee’s top work in years, but it
also reminds me of a time when Spike Lee wasn’t “Spike Lee,” and
made films from his heart, and not his soapbox.
In telling this sober tale of a drug dealer’s last day of free
will, Lee keeps his customary bag of tricks at bay, instead allowing
the film to lead itself. But there is one moment that is, without
doubt, a “Spike Lee” moment: excusing himself for a bathroom break
in a restaurant, Monty spies a expletive written on a mirror. Taking
the curse to its natural conclusion, Monty begins a monologue in which
he criticizes all races and factions that make up New York, even
reaching Osama Bin Laden, and ultimately himself. This scene recalls
the remarkable character digressions in “Do The Right Thing,” and
gives “25th Hour” its premium moment, or at least its
most visceral.
What will certainly catch most audiences’ attention is the
September 11th imagery interwoven into the film. As much as
it is a motion picture about personal adjustment, Spike Lee also
chooses to showcase how much New York has changed since the terrorist
attacks. We see ground zero being cleaned up, the two memorial beams
of light shooting up to the heavens, various shots of patriotism in
the city streets, and the tributes to the fallen firemen. These
touches don’t really have anything to do with the story, and only
once do the characters even acknowledge the devastation. But in best
Spike Lee fashion, the additions bring out a mournful flavor that
couldn’t be realized by the main story arc alone. With other
filmmakers worried about cutting around the 9/11 attacks, Lee is the
first to treat them with the hushed reverence and acknowledgement they
deserve.
Also to Lee’s credit is how good a performance he pulls out of
lead Edward Norton. Never an actor to get keyed up about anything,
Norton’s role as Monty matches his skill level perfectly, in that it
requires inner fire and constant quiet remorse. Norton’s best scenes
are toward the film’s end, as Monty begins to drop his cool and
reveals a terrified young man not wanting to part with such a huge
chunk of his life. The acting here is heartbreaking, and this is
Norton’s most affecting work to date.
“25th Hour” represents the best side of Spike Lee.
It effectively blends the two sides of his filmmaking, the narrative
and the experimental, and forms a cohesive, thought-provoking whole.
Grade:
8/10
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