Review of Do the Right Thing (1989) by Jovan J — 29 May 2011

Began as a very interesting and insightful film on race relations with a strongly unique vibe and personality through its characters, setting, use of music, and theatrical tropes. Great performances by the cast, although I HATED Lee's character, and maybe I was supposed to but, I REALLY did.

I really liked the grey areas inhabited by pretty much every character, except for Sal, who, until the end was probably the most "good", well the sister too, but anyway I wished Lee would've stayed on the path of subtlety until the climax, and that's when I kind of felt the movie and its characters had a radical shift that seem to try as if it was built up to, but it just seemed random and over-the-top to me.

Some of the main characters' words and actions didn't seem to really match up with who they seemed to be the rest of the movie. Instead of relying on character relationships and events to spur more drama, everyone seemed to put on their "I'm black" and "I'm white" jerseys and get to fighting and looting.

Not everything in real life has to make sense or even be justified, so I can understand that, but the climax made no "dramatic sense", and I thought the scene with Raheem and the police was VERY heavy-handed and obvious, no attempt to put any sort of spin or nuance on it, just a typical "fuck tha police" moment.

Lee's scene after the climax was utterly ridiculous, I don't care how much of a dumbass his character was, that was beyond stupid. Despite all that, still a must-see for black filmmakers and those interested in racial relations and movies about them.