When I talked about my Longlegs and my favorite serial killer films the other day, I listed this Spike Lee gem as one of my favorites. Granted, I watched this at an impressionable age and haven’t seen it for years, so there could be a lot to it that doesn’t work or hold up. But I am happy to report, that this film still fucking rocks.
When we talk about Spike Lee’s pantheon of films, this one somehow is wildly overlooked. Of course there is Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, two unimpeached films that will live on forever; and then there are his films that he directed but didn’t write like 25th Hour and Inside Man. You may think of his incredible sense of documentary like 4 Little Girls about the Birmingham church bombing in the 60s, or his prowess for memorable music videos. And of course, we can never forget his Mars Blackmon Nike spots.
But when we talk about Spike Lee, the general public seems to completely overlook this 1999 crime thriller. To me, this is odd, because it is a very good film at minimum that hasn’t had the same resurgence as some of his other classics like Clockers and Crooklyn - hell even Bamboozled got a Criterion release. It doesn’t sing like School Daze and Mo’ Betta Blues, nor does it ball out like He Got Game, but it is right there. This film, which takes place against the backdrop of the Son of Sam murders in the Bronx in the 70s, has all the makings of two beloved modern classics (Memories of a Murder and Zodiac) but we actually have the case solved. And I don’t understand why, when we have definite answers to questions, that it is not beloved.
Maybe audiences weren’t ready for this type of story where the serial killer is secondary. I can imagine people going in to see this and expecting to get a mystery-solving film about how we actually got the Son of Sam, like we did for the fictional Silence of the Lambs. Instead, they were offered a glimpse into the surrounding neighborhood, its bigoted reactions to a changing time, and how anything that didn’t fall in line with their ideals was an outside threat to their community worthy of stomping out - like the killer himself.
This film has more aligned with a classical Greek drama than anything else. We follow John Leguizamo’s Vinny as he tries to navigate his failing life at the time, with a barrage of muses in his neighborhood “pals” that persuade and deride his behavior. They play the devils on his shoulders and sway him to do things like cut off his friend Richie (Adrien Brody) or believe in things he knows are not true. It’s an interesting examination of the counter-cultural clash of the time in the late 70s with the rise of drugs, punk, and sex and how that beats against stereotypical conservative family values. In all honesty, this film has more in common with Do the Right Thing than probably anything else in his filmography. I, for one, will personally ride for this film forever.
So without further ado, here are my top five Spike Lee films joints and honorable mentions. Now, I have not seen all of his filmography, because it is vast, but for what I have seen, this is it.
Inside Man - I feel like this is cheating because it’s not fully his film, he just directed it, but it is an incredible heist film with a sick cast that is so much fun to rewatch. And if you don’t believe that he didn’t have anything to do with some of the writing, I present to you the last scene with Denzel and his wife.
BlacKkKlansman - At the time I had extreme recency bias for it especially, after the stint of not-so-great-films that preceded it. Still, I truly think this film gets an undeserving reputation, mostly because people were annoyed that this is the film that won an Oscar for Spike. And honestly, it should have. We have great performances in JDW, Driver, and Topher Grace; a fantastic story; and incredible imagery that is intercut with how modern media has preserved and promoted terrible Dixie ideologies that should have been stomped out. This film is great, and important, and I definitely believe it belongs in the conversation.
Summer of Sam - I actually saw this film before I saw Do the Right Thing. I actually saw Girl 6 and Jungle Fever before I saw DTRT as well. But this film was the one that had a lasting impact. Sure, it could’ve been the nudity and sex and Mira Sorvino’s red dress, but for all the things I listed above, this film rules.
Malcolm X - This film is long, but the images will stick with me for a lifetime. The story behind Spike coming into the position to direct is wild and he put his goddamn foot in it. If anything, the “A Change is Gonna Come” scene imprinted what that song means to me.
Do the Right Thing - I won’t be able to say anything smart that hasn’t been written about this film before. It’s a quintessential American film, a quintessential summer film, a quintessential New York film. It’s just so damn beautiful in all of the ways.