25th Hour

The lead-in visual for this film is a skyline view of New York with the twin blue searchlights piercing the sky as a memorial to the September 11th disaster. This plus the background music tells us immediately that the story will be serious.

Very soon, we know that the protagonist has been tried and convicted and has one more day before beginning a seven year jail term. The story is all about that day and the effect it has on him, his family and his best friends. It is a story about relationships. But what is unique in this story is its focus on the feelings and reactions of the people around the protagonist rather than an egocentric concentration on just the protagonist. This film is very much an exploration of emotion as these characters are developed.

This is a Spike Lee directed film based on a David Benioff book. Although this film does not involve issues around and in the African American community, much of his film work does, e.g. Malcolm X (1992). The DVD Special Features includes a short biography about Lee and his films that is worth watching.

This film is well done, although I felt that it dragged at times and was slightly too long. Lee uses low-resolution camera work to identify flashback scenes. I found that and the occasional undulating background music distracting. And Lee was very conscious of being on site in New York for this filming after the September 11th World Trade Center disaster. He has even included a camera shot of the workers at ground zero from the apartment of Frank, one of the characters.

Edward Norton plays Montgomery Brogan, the protagonist. Norton is a good actor and most of the time he was convincing in this role, but he was just too reasonable, too nice and too smart to be completely believable as the unscrupulous and Machiavellian drug dealer who was willing to sacrifice anyone for his own gain, even though it was supposed to be his past life. This weakened the story for me. In contrast the supporting cast was so strong they carried the film.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was outstanding as the schoolteacher best friend Jacob. The more films I see him in, the more I am amazed at his flexibility. Here he is the quintessential shy absent-minded professor. I recently saw him as the cunning and nasty porno-call entrepreneur in Punch-Drunk Love (2002). Look for him in two upcoming films, Cold Mountain (2003) and Empire Falls (2004). Hes an actor to watch.

Barry Pepper plays Frank, the other best friend. He is a Canadian that I havent noticed before, although he has appeared in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Enemy of the State (1998) and The Green Mile (1999).

Rosario Dawson plays Naturelle, Montys live-in love interest looker. She has been in several films since 1995, but I only recognized Men in Black II (2002). She is Cuban, Native American, Puerto Rican, African American and Irish, i.e. a typical New Yorker.

Ann Paquin plays Mary, Jacobs 17-year-old English student. Another Canadian, she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Piano (1993). She is a vegetarian, speaks French and plays the cello. Ive also seen her in Fly Away Home (1996), X-Men (2000), Almost Famous (2000) and Finding Forrester (2000). Shes another actress to watch.

Reviewed October 23, 2003