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25th
Hour, 2002, 134 minutes, Rated R
By Ramona Prioleau
In
OZ, a skinny, good-looking Irish kid from the neighborhood can play
both sides against the middle and avoid an assault to his manhood.
When the setting is New York City rather than Em City and the
character
is Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) rather than Ryan O'Reilly, realism
prevails. As such, in 25th Hour, Monty faces the
prospect of a 7-year stretch for drug trafficking with dread and a
desire to spend his last day with family and friends.
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The unavoidable certainty of
his fate weighs on Monty as he awakens on the eve of his
incarceration. Despite the chin-up platitudes from those close to him,
Monty is aware of his dim future in prison. While woeful and wary
during his last day of freedom, Monty contemplates how to better his
chances of survival behind bars. It's also a day during which he
reflects on one's possibilities at the brink of adulthood and which
white line is best to get the party jumping.
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25th Hour, directed by Spike Lee, is
based on the book of the same name from a screenplay written by the
novel's author, David Benioff. Produced after the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center, 25th Hour weaves the lingering impact of 9/11
carefully into the film. Not at all garish, the references add texture
to a film that is steeped firmly in the culture and lifestyle of New
York City - an environment in which tracking down those that commit
crimes against humanity parallels the quest for those who are a
scourge upon the community.
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As with most Spike Lee productions, 25th
Hour is photographed with a richness and depth that is at times
spectacular. Most vivid in that regard is 25th Hour's credit sequence
that rolls against a black backdrop with a splotch of iridescent blue.
This seemingly computer-generated visual is shortly revealed to be the
memorial towers of light at Ground Zero thereby making the ordinary
compelling. In a sense, such can be said of the film as a whole.
Those
long familiar with Spike Lee's issue-filled films and opinionated
storytelling will find that
his direction is understated and deliberate in 25th Hour. In fact,
but for Spike's signature use of dollies to glide actors through a
couple of shots, it's easy to forget whose joint this is. Within a film, where most of the characters are able to
blossom, Edward Norton's Monty is in full bloom. Norton is his
most engaging during Monty's F-the world diatribe that ends in honest
self-deprecation for the path that he chose to walk. For more on
25th Hour, click
here.
M
December 2002
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