25th Hour

 

25^th Hour 2002

• Director: Spike Lee
• Seen by the director: BlacKkKlansman, Miracle at St Ana, Clockers, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, She’s Gotta Have It
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa, Isaiah Whitlock Jr
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Edward Norton – Birdman, Moonrise Kingdom, The Invention of Lying, The Illusionist, Kingdom of Heaven, Frida, Fight Club, American History X
• Barry Pepper – Maze Runner, The Lone Ranger, True Grit, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Hunger Games, God’s Pocket, The Invention of Lying, The Boat that Rocked, Cold Mountain, Punch-Drunk Love, Almost Famous, Flawless, Happiness, The Big Lebowski, Twister, The Scent of a Woman
• Rosario Dawson – Zombieland Double Tap, Daredevil, Rent
• Anna Paquin - X-Men, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Almost Famous, Amistad, The Piano
• Brian Cox – Coriolanus, Zodiac, The X-Men, The Bourne Identity, Rushmore, The Boxer, The Long Kiss Good-Night, Braveheart, Rob Roy, The Prince of Jutland, King Lear
• Tony Siragusa – The Sopranos
• Isaiah Whitlock Jr – BlacKkKlansman, Thanks for Sharing, Detachment, Main Street, Cadillac Records, The Wire, 1408
• Why? The cast and the director
• Seen: 1 August 2023      

       Monty (Norton) is a drug dealer who got caught and tomorrow he’s entering prison for a 7-year sentence. He knows he is a criminal doing something stupid. He’s regretful and scared. He spends his last night contemplating things, hanging out with his two oldest friends Jake (Hoffman), a shy, fumbling English teacher with the hots for a student Mary (Paquin), and Frank (Pepper), an obnoxious, mouthy, macho stockbroker, and his girlfriend Naturelle (Dawson), who might have turned him in.

       It’s confusing with its flashbacks, and very talky, but powerful and compelling. 

4* of 5