25th Hour

It seemed more than appropriate to re-watch 2002's 25TH HOUR this year, the twenty fifth anniversary of the September 11th tragedy.  A day that changed everyone and everything.  To what degree is still being discovered all these years later.  David Benioff based the screenplay on his novel, the latter of which was written before the attacks on the World Trade Center.  Director Spike Lee felt it was right to include the aftermath of the attacks as a potent backdrop to this story of a drug dealer who has one last night of freedom before he heads off for a seven year prison sentence. 

Edward Norton is Monty Brogan, a good soul who drifted into crime earlier on, when he sold weed on a college campus.  He later hooked up with Russian mobsters.  Not the most reliable or honorable of colleagues, it turns out.  Monty had become suspicious that his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) sold him out when DEA agents knew just where to search for drugs and cash in his apartment.  The film takes place on said night, when Monty tries to tie up loose ends with his father James (Brian Cox) and old friends Frank (Barry Pepper) and Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Like many Spike Lee joints, 25TH HOUR is an ode to New York City.  A celebration and damnation in equal measure.  The most famous scene is Monty's rant in a public restroom.  As he gazes into a mirror with "Fuck You!" stenciled on the bottom, he directs that very invective at numerous ethnic groups around the city.  He covers most of them, also getting jabs in at Wall Street would-be Gordon Gekkos and women who've done too much facial plasticity.  Even Jesus isn't spared.  Then he aims the venom at himself.  It was in the novel.  But it feels very Spike.  Remember a similar bit in DO THE RIGHT THING?  And in both films it is powerful, increasingly so as one reflects.  Another in-your-face portrait of America (maybe even society) at large.  Its attitudes and mores.  9/11 only stoking the fire that much more.

This is a potent character study.  Of the men at least.  Dawson's role is a bit thin.  The male characters are well drawn and uncomfortably realistic. Kudos to Norton, Pepper, and Hoffman.  To say nothing of Cox, who delivers that final monologue.  Anna Paquin has a few good moments as one of Jacob's students, a potential Big Mistake for the lonely teach.  This story thread could've been easily excised, but will ring truthful for far too many viewers.

Spike's direction isn't as consistently showy as usual, though expect to see his trademark floating dolly at one point.  Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography reeks of early 2000s desaturation.  That unappealing high contrast, metallic looking aesthetic.  Here, it is perfect for the malaise, a reflection of the tone.  Terrence Blanchard's score is perfection, just beautiful and understated.

Looming over everything is the fallout of September 11th.  The woundedness.  Ground Zero can be seen from Frank's window.  He's been forever affected like everyone else, but he ain't moving, even if Bin Laden launches an offensive right next door.  25TH HOUR plays like an elegy to a tough city and its residents.   People who've made bad choices and/or were collateral damage to someone else's decisions.  The climax is a crusher. 

The deeper subtext of Benioff's story is beyond the scope of this review.  Sure to reveal itself more fully with repeat viewings.  I might recommend that every September 11th.