Review – 25th Hour

Once again Spike Lee proves himself the undisputed master of the hour-long movie. And once again he kills a masterpiece graveyard dead by keeping it going for double the time he should have. The plot has tremendous potential: a former drug dealer (Ed Norton) spends time with friends, father and girlfriend on the day before he has to report for a seven-year prison sentence. The characters, dialogue and action are classic Lee. Unfortunately, at some point – it’s hard to pin the exact moment down – the production runs out of interesting character development and clever plot twists. By the end of the movie we’re actually being treated – and I use the term loosely – to a “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” sequence that takes forever to reach its thoroughly predictable conclusion. The sum of the movie’s message appears to be “white boys shouldn’t deal because they’re throwing their lower class idylls away.” The point seems trite and more than a little odd coming from Lee. With his talent and this cast he could have made a better or at least shorter movie. Mildly amusing