Customer Reviews

25th Hour

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This film, directed by legendary racist and "Whitey-hater" Spike Lee, and starring Edward Norton, is about a guy. Now, this isn't some regular guy, this is a guy with a pretty bad-@ss goatee. This automatically makes him awesome.

Anyway...Edward Norton's character is being sent to prison for seven years. He has one last day to enjoy his freedom. Now, in real life the police would automatically take the man into custody and arrest him, but in Spike Lee's fantasy land, Norton's character gets one last day to do whatever he wants, whether that be to leave the country or to go on a murderous rampage. Norton's character, however, decides just to meet with his friends for a pretty lame party.

Really, the ONLY good things in this movie are the ending and Norton's scene where he rants to himself while looking in the mirror.

I give The 25th Hour two stars.
**

I watched this blind. I missed all the hype of it's theatrical release so, maybe that helped me enjoy the film? But, I must say this is amazing. I am not going to fill this review with all of my experience or know how. For a major North American release this is a modern master piece! The only reason I can think of why not to like this would be high or different expectations. Blame media hype. You can't really expect something from a film you haven't seen...It is simply put: Not art but drama

25th Hour... A lot of people have already posted reviews of this movie. Some loved it, some hated it. I am in the first category- although it is dark, tense and slow-paced, 25th Hour riveted me from the first scene, where Monty Brogan rescues the abused dog.
I love Edward Norton. Not only is he an incredibly talented actor, but I find his looks very appealing. He's not a pretty boy or a hunk, yet he has major appeal, and yes, he has definitely got a nice build. But most importantly, he has a way of using facial expressions that is irresistable. Fight Club was a great movie, and he is a great actor, but this has to be his finest work to date. I bought 25th Hour because he stars in it, and I loved it because he made the movie. It was well directed in my opinion, and the supporting cast were wonderful, but if it had starred anyone else, 25th Hour would likely have been something not worth watching. Even a well directed film with a great supporting cast can fail if the lead is miscast. In this case, casting was spot-on.
Edward Norton IS Monty Brogan for 25th Hour.
If for just a few scenes, this movie would be worth watching- Monty's f*ck-you rant to the mirror in the bathroom of his father's bar, the scene where his apartment is searched by the DEA, the interrogation scene, the scene between Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) and Francis (Barry Pepper), the 'make me ugly scene'- these scenes could have made a mediocre movie great. But the movie was already great- these scenes made it unforgettable. I watch it once, and as the end credits roll I immediately want to watch it again. That is what denotes a great movie- I'll never tire of 25th Hour. And on top of everything else this movie has the all time BEST pick-up scene- the 18 year old Catholic school girl-looking Naturelle meets for the first time that cute older Irish guy, Monty Brogan.
I think Rosario Dawson was underrated in this film- she comes across to me as a caring girlfriend, and she proves herself as a GREAT actress when she portrays the younger Naturelle- that WAS an 18 year old girl we were seeing. Plus her scene at the club with Barry Pepper is really great.
I bought 25th Hour sight unseen because Edward Norton was in it, and ended up getting the best movie I've yet seen. I intend to buy the DVD as soon as I can. Buy this film. Don't listen to those who will try to discredit it, it is a great movie and a wonderful vehicle for the acting talents of our Edward Norton.

Chornyi

This movie, Spike Lee's latest offering, is essentially his offering to New York as a parting gift. If you allow yourself to be immersed in the movie then you'll find yourself overtaken by it. The colours, the characters, the story, the pace, the music - all are brilliantly balanced by the director to make this one of the best movies to come out of 2002.

The characters that Lee (and the writer of the screenplay, whose name I've forgotten) presents are complex and human. Just like in real life, nobody here is clear-cut, everyone has greater depths than are first seen and it's hard to determine who you sympathize with and who to blame. The performances are all, without exception, excellent.

The story, simply put, is a character-based drama. It's about Monty (Ed Norton) and his way of dealing with the fact that he's about to go to prison for 7 years and there's a whole bunch of people and things that he's never going to see again. The movie is about how this affects him, his friends, his business partners (he deals drugs) and his girlfriend.

The DVD's special features include some deleted scenes (most of which were appropriately deleted, in my opinion), a montage of Ground Zero (about 8 minutes long), a short biography of Spike Lee which is informative and to the point (22 minutes long) and commentary tracks by Spike Lee and the writer of the book and the screenplay (I haven't listened to these yet so I can't tell you what I think of them).

It's a really worthwhile movie and one that, if you enjoy it, you'll want to watch again in a month or two as there are definitely scenes that stand out more once you're not obliged to follow the plot too closely.

Highly recommended; but don't plan on being in a particularly jovial mood afterwards.

25th Hour has some enjoyable elements, and works in a special way. A man is sentenced to jail, and is allowed time on the outside to say goodbye. Naturally he reflects on what might have been, and also questions his friendships. I found the film had alot of hidden meanings, but it did lose some credibility with the freedom aspect. I dont know what it is like in America, but if you were sentenced to jail for being a drug dealer in Australia, you would be kept in custody beforehand for weeks.

I have to admit it was difficult to feel compassion for Norton since his character is that of a drug dealer. Perhaps if he was being sentenced for something different, it might have helped gain my compassion.

Worth seeing, even if it is rather depressing at times.

Very well acted and well shot. Nothing happens. You keep waiting for something interesting, but it never comes along. Besides which, it has this confusing conceit of a man who's been sentenced to jail, but then he gets some time on the outside to say goodbye to people and possibly escape if he wants. It may be that this does happen in the criminal justice system, but it flies so counter to what i'm used to (you get convicted, you go straight to jail) that it just made it hard to take in. Save your money. there are so many better movies with the same people (Lee, Norton, Hoffman, Paquin...)

This is very mixed up film. Spike Lee tries to draw parallels between the destruction of the main characters life with the devastation of 911. This does not work well at all. It's good for a film to capture a certain time and space, but the post 911 setting it is too overpowering in this film. Spike Lee uses Edward Norton as a vehicle to push his usual politics and vent his many frustrations. The most obvious example of this is the monologue in front of the mirror. His outburst seemed totally unprovoked and out of character. I found it hard to care about Norton's character, and at times I even forgot about him. The ending, whether it was a flash-forward or a dream, was laughable. When I think back on the film, all I remember is Spike Lee complaining and screaming, and he wasn't even in the film.

One of the many things that make 25th hour such a special film to me is how Benioff and Lee didn't attempt to cram too many events into this plot. This film does take place in just one day, and it's a perfect snapshot of the lead protagonist Monty Brogan's thoughts and actions in that final day before he begins a 7 year jail sentence for dealing heroin, expertly put together by David Benioff and Spike Lee. We see Brogan (superbly played by Edward Norton) walking his dog, talking to his girlfriend, having a meal with his father, going out to a club with his friends, preparing to go to jail and being driven there. It's not over the top, it isn't brash, but it does do what is necessary.

Brogan is clearly worried and regretful. This is faultlessly portrayed by the mirror scene, in which he rants incessantly about the variety of people populating New York, and then realizes that he only has himself to blame for the situation he is in. It's such a human moment, since how many people can honestly say that they have never chosen to blame others, and take their anger out in a vicious way, even if it is just personal thoughts? But it isn't just Monty who feels regret, virtually every other character we focus on does, Monty's father is weighed down by his former alcoholism, and he partly holds himself responsible for Monty's fate. And so do Monty's friends, not preventing him from his choice to deal drugs.

Monty Brogan is not really shown in a 'good' or 'bad' light. Norton plays him as a normal person. He's easy to relate to, and it's a reminder of how anyone can turn out depending on what choices they make. His choice of drug dealing is looked down upon, the interrogators ridicule him, but that is only in the context of drug dealing, not as a normal person. Benioff and Lee were keen to show his actions like this.

The film is skillfully made, from the very tasteful opening credit scene acknowledging 9/11 (another honest feature about the film, which is an important theme throughout), where we see the lights at ground zero dropping from the sky, to the fantasy scene with Monty and his father in the car near the end, where they think about the family he could have had, all surreally dressed in while. Terence Blanchard's score too is one of the most beautiful I've heard in a recent film along with Michael Andrews score for Donnie Darko - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition). The film tells it like it is. It's about decision making, it's about responsibility and it's about real friendship. It's realistic on an emotional level and is now one of my favorite Spike Lee Joints.

Maybe I came in with to high of expectations? I don't know, but I did not find this movie enjoyable at all. Some people might say that I didn't get all of the hidden meanings and innuendoes. I did pick up on everything and still found myself thinking 'So what, get on with the movie already!'. The only part of the movie I had any interest in was to see what happened between the characters that Hoffman and Anna Paquin played. Was Hoffman going to end up in jail with Norton for sleeping with his student? Might have been a good twist...

With a great cast of actors and people telling me how great this movie was, I think I just came in expecting to much. I was very disappointed...

Certainly one of Spike Lee`s best movies, "25th Hour" focuses the last day of freedom of a condemned drug dealer (Edward Norton). Facing an unpredictable yet decisive moment in his life, Monty decides to spend his last day with his girlfriend and closest friends, and manages to think about the path he is taking. Flowing at a slow, contemplative and low-key pace, this movie is a strong and compelling character study that focuses issues like friendship, love, trust, choices in a subtle, poignant and complex way. Lee`s direction is solid as always, and he even approaches the post-11/9 NY events in a memorable and fascinating manner, creating a somber, deep and captivating atmosphere. The acting is stellar, since it combines the talents of Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox, Philip Semour Hoffman, Barry Pepper and Anna Paquin. Add an excellent score (Terence Blanchard), ace photography (Rodrigo Prieto) and you`ve got one of the best movies of 2003. A thoughtful and enticing cinematic experience, "25th Hour" avoids easy sappiness and presents a mature and well-told story.

A keeper.