25th HOUR

Cole's Rating: ★★★
Jesse's Rating: ★★★

Director: Spike Lee

Year: 2002

Cast: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper

Genre: Crime/Drama

MPAA Rating: R

        Movies are one thing. But movies without music are an entirely different subject. That’s how I felt about 25th Hour, a film fueled greatly by its haunting musical score. But that’s not the only source that this vehicle is drilling oil from; we have Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, a promising plot line, and an overall effective impression left on the moviegoing audience. I say effective because it contains several different life lessons: some good, some bad. It won’t turn you away from white supremacy (that was American History X’s job (which is another Norton flick)). But it will show you, and depending on the type of person you are, warn you about the dangers that life offers, and how quickly yours can disappear. That’s what’s most important when you watch a film like this. 

       Magnificent music is definitely evident here. The narration towards the end with the music playing in the background was just one instance of brilliant filmmaking; I was entirely immersed in the presentation of the content that the movie offered. Similar to a recent viewing of Road To Perdition, I felt that it wouldn’t have it’s power and influence without the mood that the music insinuated. Both film’s have the power to strike intrigue on the moviegoing audience because of this, and it’s a shame that several great movies lack a significant musical score, it surely holds many back from being that much better.

        To add to that—wait, I first must proclaim my admiration for Edward Norton as an actor. Over the course of his career, he’s shown that he is capable of playing a variety of different roles: good guy, bad guy, crazy guy, good/bad guy. And each one of his performances just keep knocking the other off of the top of the charts. He manages to outact himself every single time. So since I haven’t seen every one of his films, I can’t say that he’s the best in this or the ones that I have seen, but I can say that he’s pretty darn good. He stars here as the said good/bad guy; busted for dealing to a school. He’s convicted and sent to jail for seven years... But we get to witness his last day before departing: the relationships he concludes, the revelations he discovers, and other endeavors that a man would embark upon before he wasted seven years of his life behind bars, a place he genuinely believes that he won’t survive in. While the movie isn’t quite as emotional as it would’ve hoped to be, the best thing to focus on is his actions, and the things he feels he needs to do before he rots away in a prison cell; not to mention the dialogue. And finally when you reach the end, and you think you’ve learned a true life lesson and witnessed a natural story, the tables turn, and you’re witnessing a whole different telling of life’s events, based on your interpretation. Now this may sound like it’s a bad thing, but as you arrive to its denouement, you will have realized that gratitude is owed to writer David Benioff and director Spike Lee (although you don’t need to thank him for his atrocious camerawork) for spicing the story up, and making you awe at the outcome that lies within the film’s second hour.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

Jesse's Thoughts: 25th Hour is a Spike Lee joint that carries a lot of his signature film making trademarks. However, he tells a straighter and more focused story this time around (most of his films are plot over plot over plot). He gets the most out of his cast (especially Ed Norton and Barry Pepper) and you're hooked right away because from the beginning, you enthralled by the impending fate of the main character. This movie also does a great job of showcasing various flashbacks and the ending is effective because it can be interpreted in many different ways. As usual, Lee likes to work from a canvas of dark red/black hues and colors for lighting and background (he does this most often in Summer of Sam and Clockers). In my opinion, this gives 25th Hour an effective sense of dread and despair. Let's just say that overall, this is a solid effort and it heralds itself as a blatant message movie for post 9/11.