Review of 25th Hour (2002) by Wyatt B — 11 Sep 2008

Superior performances carry a good script in Spike Lee's dark [i]25th Hour[/i].

This is one of those subtle movies. Many people probably find it boring. But this is just the kind of movie I like. Character-focused and completely dependent on its writing.

Edward Norton plays Monty Brogan, a man who is going to jail for several years for a drug offense. The movie is about his final hours of freedom. What is he going to do? Is he going to kill himself? Is he going to run? Or is he going to take his punishment? These are the questions the viewer asks themselves throughout. It is made clear that he is too good-looking to survive in prison without it being a living Hell... for obvious reasons. He'd be passed around like currency. What is the solution?

This movie was made a year after September 11th and it is not shy about referencing it directly. One of Monty's friends - a smug, mannerless day-trader named Frank (Barry Pepper) lives in what is clearly an extremely expensive (or formerly expensive) condo that overlooks ground zero. This darkness seems to loom throughout the entire movie.

Not a lot happens in this movie. Really it's just a bunch of conversations followed by a perfect ending. We also meet another friend of Monty's, Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a nervous high school teacher with a crush on one of his students. Rosario Dawson plays Monty's wife, and Monty begins to grow suspicious of whether or not she ratted him out. Brian Cox is phenomenal as Monty's father. He delivers a monologue at the end of the movie that is the best part of the movie.

There is also a standout scene in which Monty takes out some of his rage verbally while looking at himself in a bathroom mirror. This is one of my favorite scenes of any movie. It ties into September 11th hauntingly.

Make sure you don't watch this on a cable TV channel. I watched it a while ago and they completely cut out the best part that the entire movie builds to.

[b]Summary:[/b] If you want action, this isn't for you. This is a purely character driven movie about a mans last hours before going to prison for years. A lot of questions need to be answered in a short amount of time. The acting is just top-notch, Norton and Cox standing out. I love this type of movie and I wish there were more like it. Subtlety can say so much more than flashy, expensive special effects.

[i]"You know, you're wearing a striped shirt with a striped tie, you know that, right?"[/i] - Frank Slaugherty.

[i]"Yeah, I do it for the ladies."[/i] - Co-worker.

[i]"Oh - the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion?"[/i] - Frank Slaugherty.

[b]8.4/10.[/b].