25th Hour (2002)
In New York City in the days following the events of 9/11, Monty Brogan is a convicted drug dealer about to start a seven-year prison sentence, and his final hours of freedom are devoted to hanging out with his closest buddies and trying to prepare his girlfriend for his extended absence.
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Highly Overrated But Still Good
An action-packed slog
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Seriously. This whole movie did not make any sense to me at all. If he was convicted and sentenced to prison for seven years, then they would have immediately taken him into custody so he would NEVER have the chance to potentially run away (as his dad even suggests to him late in the movie). I do not get this AT ALL!
Seems strange to get a review a decade or so later but I only watched this Spike Lee classic recently and was totally blown away with every aspect of this movie. How Edward Norton did not get an Oscar nomination defies explanation but also serves to prove what a farce the Academy Awards are. This is movie making at it's best as one lives every raw emotion that Norton extracts. The entire cast give a stellar performance and none more than Barry Pepper and Rosario Dawson. The haunting musical score and New York 'sidewalk atmosphere' uplifts the movie. As for the oft underrated Norton, he lived his character to the max with such conviction one actually felt a little sorry for a bad guy on his way to the pen. Great to also see Spike Lee stepping out of his comfort zone and turn a fabulous novel into one of the all time cinematic masterpieces. A resounding 10/10 !
Original story with a powerful ending.The story of a man who is about to go to jail (for the first time) for seven years for drug-related offenses. The movie shows his last hours before he is to go to jail.Quite original and interesting in that it deals with a situation which occurs to many people every year. Shows how he deals with it, or doesn't, and how his friends and family deal with it.On the downside, is quite slow and doesn't really feel like it is going anywhere, until the final few scenes. Very powerful ending.Solid performance by Edward Norton in the lead role. Philip Seymour Hoffman is is usual reliable, convincing self as one of his friends. Barry Pepper is irritating as another, but maybe that was the plan. Good support from Rosario Dawson and Anna Paquin. I found Brian Cox a bit irritating as his father though.
Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors simply because he does material, like this excellent movie, that is unique in how the story/character unfolds. In this awesome movie, the end is basically hinted at in the very beginning, then the story unfolds in flashbacks. Norton has such an incredible gift for playing characters that seek redemption and this movie is definitely one of those. If you liked American History X for its way of telling a flawed character's story, this movie will not disappoint. Excellent performances by Norton, Hoffman and especially Barry Pepper. Director Spike Lee once again is behind a unique and individual way of telling a story.