by PETER MORRIS in Los Angeles on 12th March 2003
In November of last year the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) presented SPIKE LEE with a special award for what they described as his “consistent body of outstanding work”. I, on the other hand, would take exception to the use of the word consistent. I’ve been a huge fan of some of his output and, quite frankly, thought some of it stinks. Bearing that in mind, I went in to watch “ 25th Hour” hoping that it would be one of his better offerings after all the cast includes Oscar nominee ED NORTON in the lead role and the supporting players include Oscar winner ANNA PAQUIN , PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, BARRY PEPPER and the ubiquitous BRIAN COX ( who deserves some kind of award for appearing in so many memorable supporting roles - this year alone “ The Ring”, “Adaptation”, “The Bourne Identity”, “The Rookie”, “L.I.E.” and the forthcoming “X-Men 2”).
Before the verdict, however, the plot in brief. NORTON plays a drug dealer who is on his last day of freedom before spending a long stretch in prison- i.e. the 24 hours that lead up to the 25th when it all changes. The story follows him as he says his farewells to; his childhood friends played by HOFFMAN and PEPPER - each of whom have distinctive views on NORTON‘s fate and whether or not he deserves it; his girlfriend played by ROSARIO DAWSON ( “MIB 2”) who he vaguely suspects may have turned him in to the police; his father, played by COX, who as a recovering alcoholic is trying to “be there” for him; and, of course, the drug lords who supplied him and are trying to ensure his silence so he doesn’t give evidence against them in return for his own freedom.
There are some good sequences featuring very good performances by those actors mentioned above as well as a couple of newer faces like TONY “the Goose” SIRAGUSA who American football fans may well recognise as a Superbowl winning nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens in 2000- he makes his acting debut as a Russian mobster and does a great job.
ANNA PAQUIN (who first stole our hearts as Flora opposite HOLLY HUNTER in JANE CAMPION‘S 1993 classic "The Piano") is rapidly, in my opinion, becoming the JODIE FOSTER of her generation and it’s hard to take your eyes off her when she’s on screen: NORTON and HOFFMAN deliver the kind of performances we’ve come to expect from them: BARRY PEPPER is an actor whose star is on the rise, and BRIAN COX - well let’s just say that the CBE he received in the New years honours list won’t be the last award he receives in the next few years.
Having said all of that I have to say that I was still a bit underwhelmed when I left the screening.
It’s a good concept and I’m told the book was a great read, the acting is very good but I have to say I found it all just a bit too slow. I know he’s savouring his last day of freedom but is it really necessary to have a 3-4 minute sequence of NORTON walking his dog with absolutely no dialogue or further movement of the plot?
Others may disagree but my bum got a bit restless as we approached the two hour mark and although the climax is interesting I wished it had come a bit sooner than 2 hours 15 minutes in.
In my opinion SPIKE will have to go some to better “Malcolm X” , “ He Got Game” and “Get on the Bus”
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
