A convicted drug dealer uses his last day of freedom before his sentence begins to reflect on his choices and make peace with his family.

CRIME/DRAMA

25th Hour (2002)

Directed by Spike Lee

Written by David Benioff

Starring Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa

​Based on the novel by David Benioff

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Connor Eyzaguirre

January 9, 2020

7/10

I'm still a novice when it comes to Spike Lee's work. I can count how many of his films I've seen on one hand. But I've noticed a recurring theme of disjointedness for the sake of artistic expression, and that's peppered throughout 25th Hour. I found this film self-indulgent for both Lee and Edward Norton, and it misses the opportunity to tackle very real themes of drug violence and the consequences therein. Instead, the film is an overly long, not overly interesting slog through Monty's (Norton) last day as a free man. Though, in the end, nothing really changed and the most interesting plot threads are never expanded on.

25th Hour is saved by its fantastic performances, particularly Barry Pepper as Wall Street douchebag Frank Slaughtery. You could really feel the pent-up rage and fear that's building inside him the entire movie. Norton is good, but he doesn't wow me. In fact, I think he's mostly restrained the whole time for no good reason. Philip Seymour Hoffman is good too, but his character is so generically white bread that it's hard to get invested. Until, that is, he kisses his 17 year old student crush (Paquin) and the subplot is promptly abandoned. Same with the threat that mob boss Nikolai makes on Monty and his dad (Cox).

I feel like there was so much more this movie could've done with this concept, and that what we got was unfinished. I want the next act of the story, where everyone tries to move on following such a cathartic day. I think 25th Hour isn't one of Spike Lee's masterworks, and casual film buffs might as well leave it on the shelf and look for something with a bit more punch. But the performances are fantastic, the score is subtle but dreary, and Lee's style is all over the finished product.