25th Hour – Classic Film Review 480

In 2002, director Spike Lee turns in a particularly gritty, provocative, moving and emotionally satisfying movie.

Edward Norton is scaldingly good as convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan sentenced to a seven-year jail term, but enjoying his last 24 hours of freedom from prison with his father, girlfriend and two best buddies. It’s time to re-evaluate his life.

It’s distinguished with quality acting from Brian Cox as the dad, Rosario Dawson as the girl, and those two big scene-stealers, Barry Pepper and Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing the friends.

The film could be depressing, but instead it succeeds in being inspiring and uplifting through its rare intelligence, humanity and thought-provoking ideas. And the fantasy happy ending in which Cox shows Norton how his life could have been is extremely moving.

A fired-up, fully committed Lee directs in a heartfelt, intense way and David Benioff’s screenplay from his own novel is a finely honed gem.

(C) Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Film Review 480 derekwinnert.com