Time is running out for Monty Brogan – in 24 hours he will have to give himself up to serve a seven-year prison sentence for drug dealing. Monty was something of a big-shot in Manhattan but now it’s time for him to bid farewell to the bright lights for a while. Monty had been working for Russian dealers until one day the cops darkened his door,knowing exactly where to find the stash – in the couch. Monty decides to spend his last day in freedom visiting his nearest and
dearest, including his father, who runs an Irish pub and whom Monty has being supporting financially,and two old friends he has known since child-hood. Frank works as an investment banker on Wall Street whilst Jacob teaches literature at a high school. Monty’s two friends commiserate with their buddy during his last evening in freedom. Jacob declares confidently that“I’ll see him again”, but Frank is more pragmatic and understands that a seven-year stint in prison will change Montgomery for ever. “He’s gone”, he states flatly. Monty’s girlfriend, Naturelle, is also with them this night. However, Monty has his doubts about her loyalty – she just may have been the one to sell him out to the cops – and he’s determined to find out before his impending incarceration…
25th Hour is also a film about present-day New York. As Spike Lee comments: “People ask me what 25th hour is about, and I say, ‘Edward Norton plays a drug dealer who spends his last 24 hours of freedom in a post-September 11 New York City. Even though the novel and the screenplay were written before 9/11, we knew it had to be included in the film.We felt that we would be irresponsible artists if we shot this film in New York City and people were walking around like 9/11 never happened.” –Berlinale
As a writer, director, actor, producer, author, and entrepreneur, Spike Lee has revolutionized the role of black talent in Hollywood, tearing away decades of stereotypes and marginalized portrayals to establish a new arena for Afro-American voices to be heard. His movies, a series of outspoken and provocative socio-political critiques informed by an unwavering commitment toward challenging cultural assumptions not only about race but also class and gender identity, both solidified his own standing as one of contemporary cinema’s most influential figures and furthered the careers of actors including Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, and Laurence Fishburne. Born Shelton Jackson Lee in Atlanta, GA, on March 20, 1957, he was raised in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. After attending Atlanta’s prestigious Morehouse College, returned to New York to make his first movie, 1977’s Last Hustle in Brooklyn, a portrait of the area’s Black and Puerto Rican communities… read more
The only time I watched "25th Hour" it was many years ago, and I loved it. Tonight I feel devastated the same way. I guess it was no overstatement from me when I told Spike Lee in person that this film is a masterpiece. It makes a good couple with "The Departed" in sketching out the America of the 'Post-9/11 Era'.
Writers and programmers present possible ways of viewing a terrible anniversary.
Previous roundups of year-end and decade-end lists and awards: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. "This was the year that the art world repeatedly checked
For myself, watching 25th Hour was sort-of like taking a palm reading. Noticing one line, representative of a life-path, stretches out long and far, while another line branches off… read review
Great script from David Benioff who also wrote a screenplay for the bestseller novel “Kite Runner”.
Spike Lee is to New York what Alfred Hitchcock is to San Fransisco. Conveys the atmosphere of… read review
(Originally written May 19, 2007)
Director Spike Lee is at his best when he is upfront and direct. Many parts of this film, however, suffer from his inability to tie all the elements of the… read review
