Review of Do the Right Thing (1997) by Uriel H — 04 Sep 2011
Insightful and politically-charged, Do the Right Thing finds Spike Lee at his smartest and most entertaining. This examination of ethnic communities in Brooklyn is exuberant, with larger than life characters whose lives and stories come together like a ticking time bomb once the film reaches its brilliant final act.
Lee's cinematography and use of colour and music serves to double up the intensity of the action, especially in light of the heat wave that has all the film's characters at their most frustrated.
The central question is whether the protagonist, Mookie does "the right thing" in the end, and the brilliance of the film is in Spike Lee's refusal to give his own answer to that question.
Instead, he leaves the audience to wonder whether inaction might be the greatest evil of all. The juxtaposition of quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X before the film's closing credits is a powerful example of the complexities of political revolution.
This is a marvelous film.
This review of Do the Right Thing (1997) was written by Uriel H on 04 Sep 2011.
Do the Right Thing has generally received very positive reviews.
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