25th Hour

Year: 2002

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Lee

Review

i was really put off by the ending at first, but after talking and thinking about it i like it a lot.  i saw ed norton’s character as a foil for the united states (thus the 9/11 imagery isn’t out of place, but rather complementary). our fate, like ed norton’s, is uncertain. all his friends who enable his bad habits are like all the citizens who are complacent and enable the country to go on the way it does. ed norton’s character has all the potential in the world and wastes it thanks to greed. at one point in the movie ed norton goes off on a bigoted rant reminiscent of “do the right thing” wherein he blames all his problems and the problems of nyc on immigrants, blacks, and just about everyone around him. at the end he realizes that none of what he’s said is really true…he only has himself to blame. spike lee is a great filmmaker. very good performances by all.

Watched in theater