25th Hour
Receiving a critical drubbing from some during it’s big-screen release (The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw was pretty unforgiving in his dislike of the film) Spike Lee’s post-911 New York existential drama may crank up the melodrama on occasion, but it’s a sincere, powerful piece of work which isn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve.
Featuring a trio of powerhouse performances, one modest (watch Philip Seymour Hoffman masterfully internalise and disappear into his character) and two muscular (lead Edward Norton and the criminally underrated Barry Pepper) Lee is able to capture the impending incarceration of Norton’s character with the kind of gravitas and thoughtfulness evident in his very best work. It also features the best mirror confrontation since Taxi Driver (the infamous ‘fuck you’ scene, mid-way through the film).
The film’s ambiguous ending was a source of contention for some, but it’s a bold move for an equally audacious film. 25th Hour should be filed with Summer of Sam as Lee’s greatest work outside of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
