25th Hour (2002)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (novel)
David Benioff (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

This life was so close to never happening

Plot:

Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan (Norton) reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Drug Dealing | Bar | Teacher | Drug Bust

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Edward Norton	...	Monty Brogan
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Jacob Elinsky
Barry Pepper	...	Frank Slaughtery
Rosario Dawson	...	Naturelle Riviera
Anna Paquin	...	Mary D'Annunzio
Brian Cox	...	James Brogan
Tony Siragusa	...	Kostya Novotny
Levan Uchaneishvili	...	Uncle Nikolai (as Levani)
Tony Devon	...	Agent Allen
Misha Kuznetsov	...	Senka Valghobek
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Agent Flood
Michael Genet	...	Agent Cunningham
Patrice O'Neal	...	Khari
Al Palagonia	...	Salvatore Dominick
Aaron Stanford	...	Marcuse

Also Known As:

The 25th Hour (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some violence.

Runtime:

135 min | Turkey:108 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

25th Hour Productions

Trivia:

Edward Norton's character mentions about wanting to be the "girl in 'X-Men', the one that can walk through walls". Co-stars Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Aaron Stanford and Dania Ramirez have all starred in the X-Men movies, as Rogue, General Stryker, Pyro, and Callisto respectively. The girl who can walk through walls is called Shadowcat.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Monty and Naturelle meet for the first time in the movie she's leaning forward to pet the dog, who's standing in front of her. In the next shot the dog is behind her back and Monty has to raise his hand holding a dog's leash over Naturelle's head to let her pass through.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Monty Brogan: Look at this. He's alive.
Kostya Novotny: This dog, how you call it? Bull Pit?
Monty Brogan: No, Pit-Bull. But that's not a Pit-Bull. I don't know, I don't know what he is. I bet he lost somebody some money though. Give me your gun.
Kostya Novotny: Shooting him?
Monty Brogan: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

References X-Men (2000)

Soundtrack:

Warm It Up Kane

If you do something wrong in life,you've only got yourself to blame.Right?

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Spike Lee is a truly revolutionary director in terms of the presentation of his films and the motivations behind his stories.Though the genre and content of their stories differ fairly enormously,he is in fact a lot like a latter day Alfred Hitchcock in terms of how he presents his films,like the characters involved and the inspiration behind the premise.

The premise here is a deeply original,inspiring and intriguing one,concerning Marty (Edward Norton) a drug dealer who is about to go to prison for seven years.The film follows him around on his last day of freedom,and,rather than waste too much time on a hindering,unnecessary sub-plot concerning his attempts to find the person who ratted him out,wisely opts to be an engaging character study of a man who,though able to acknowledge he knew full well what he was doing and the criminal life he was getting himself involved in,is still able to question the possible circumstances and immoralities that may have helped his descent into crime.

The two main people who help organise his last free night are his childhood buddies Frank (Barry Pepper) a sleazy stockbroker who plays with people's investments and Jakob (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) a repressed drama teacher,who,throughout the course of the film,gives in to a lustful temptation toward a feisty student of his named Mary (Anna Paquin).Though Marty is the one facing the lengthy jail sentence,the moral dilemma the film constantly raises is whether he is actually any more of a criminal than his two best mates,who are really as equally manipulative and sly as he is.The film brilliantly contrieves to present these characters to the audience,and have them develop their own opinion on what their fates should be.

The driving point of the film however,is condemnation.At the beginning,we see Marty reveal his sensitive side to the audience by rescuing a stray dog who appears to have been discarded by it's owner who,though vicious and nasty toward him,he still finds it in his heart to adopt and love,despite the protestations of his large friend.But then the opening credits ensue,and it's a dark,droning opening theme and that prsents the tone of the movie.Then,straight afterwards,we're shown Marty's not-so-sensitive side,as he trys to brush off a man he turned into a drug addict.Lee intelligently and absorbingly weighs out Marty's good points and bad points,and shows that,despite dealing in a criminal profession,he's not all bad and can be quite nice at times.Yet we're also shown a man who wasted all his potential.If he'd tried a little harder,he could've been a doctor or a chef,his father (Brian Cox) points out to him.We also see that he was once a very gifted basketball player,and could possibly have pursued that further,but alas,didn't.He also tries to blame everyone and everything else for his current predicament,until finally accepting that he was in control of his own destiny and must now pay the price.At the end,he is given the choice:accept he did wrong,pay his debt and go and serve his time in jail,or turn and run.The decision he makes will determine the audience's final impression of him.

It does drag a little towards the end,but generally speaking,Spike Lee is a master of his craft and this is a strong contender for the first great film of 2003.****