UJ: 25th Hour

This weekend I went to see 25th Hour....I was so excited since it final came to theatres around here. The movie is about a drug dealer who has been busted and this is his last day of freedom before he goes to prision for 7 years. Edward Norton plays the main character and he is one of my favorite actors. I have such respect for his work, so I could not wait to see this film. I read in the paper that it was at our local theatre and ran out and saw it on Sunday. So...let's just say I had high expectations going in.... And my verdict?

Well...it was a good film, but not great. I had read the book this summer and of course...whenever you have read a book and then seen the film...it never meets the expectations of the book. And the same is true here. At times, I wish that the movie followed the book more...and that there were some inconsistencies which I thought were pretty important.

I also had a HUGE problem with how 9/11 was addressed in this film. The film was shot in NYC and there were constant references to the WTC terrorist attack. I think a mention of it would have been fitting, but it was overwhelming. A movie about the last day of freedom of a drug dealer turned into a political response about 9/11. That bothered me a lot....it seems like there were 2 distinct plot lines in the movies...moving in completely different directions. The film was directed by Spike Lee...and I think he ruined the film for me....he threw in a bunch of his rhetoric and it really changed the movie and took away from its overall message. He added rants about society and racism into the film....which just were not fitting. It seems like he took this script and used it as an opportunity to throw all his political views on people....I guess I just enjoyed the book enough that it annoyed me that he used it to throw his issues at people.

And my final complaint....I don't like the way Spike captured some of the scenes. The book really dealt with connecting to the 3 main characters....and at times the camera made things look kinda "trippy"....and for me, it took the realness away from the film. Also, I think much of the dialogue was kinda sterotypical and made the characters more cartoonish than anything else...especially the school teacher and the cops. I like movies when the characters seem so real that you almost forget you are watching a movie....

Now onto what I LOVED about this movie....it probably isn't a hard guess, it was Edward Norton's performance. He is the only one, in my opinion, who strongly connected with the character on the same level that it was written in the novel. He once again played a character who isn't too likeable (aka drug dealer who works with the mafia) who along the way make him very likeable...and you root for him to be successful. He really identifies with this character and because of that....so does the audience. I was really amazed when watching him on screen. Oh...and let's not forget how dreamy he is? *giggles*

So...without Ed, I might give this film a thumbs down, but he saved it for me. The movie goes on my list of movies worth seeing...but maybe when it comes out on video.

enjoy...and pass the popcorn! *winks*