25th Hour (2002)

Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.

Director:

Spike Lee

Writers:

David Benioff (novel), David Benioff (screenplay)

Stars:

Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Norton	...	Monty Brogan
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Jacob Elinsky
Barry Pepper	...	Frank Slaughtery
Rosario Dawson	...	Naturelle Riviera
Anna Paquin	...	Mary D'Annunzio
Brian Cox	...	James Brogan
Tony Siragusa	...	Kostya Novotny
Levan Uchaneishvili	...	Uncle Nikolai (as Levani)
Tony Devon	...	Agent Allen
Misha Kuznetsov	...	Senka Valghobek
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Agent Flood
Michael Genet	...	Agent Cunningham
Patrice O'Neal	...	Khari
Al Palagonia	...	Salvatore Dominick
Aaron Stanford	...	Marcuse

Storyline

The 25th Hour depicts the last day of freedom for a young man before he begins serving a seven-year jail term for drug dealing. Prowling through the city until dawn with his two close male friends and his girlfriend, he is forced to re-examine his life and how he got himself into his predicament, which leads to a shocking, disturbing finale.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | drug dealing | teacher | dream | bar | 

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Taglines:

This life was so close to never happening

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 25th Hour

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$32,399 (Brazil) (23 May 2003)

Gross:

$32,399 (Brazil) (23 May 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

25th Hour Productions, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Gamut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min 108 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spike Lee:  [basketball]  Both Monty and Naturelle played high school basketball; another scene depicts a playground game. Also, Frank is reminded by his boss that they have courtside seats for an upcoming game.

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Goofs

When Mary and Mr. Elinsky are sitting alone Mary's hair is continuously hanging down in her face. At one point she sweeps it behind her ears, but when the camera cuts back her hair is hanging just as before.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Monty Brogan: Look at this. He's alive.
Kostya Novotny: This dog, how you call it? Bull pit?
Monty Brogan: No, Pit-Bull. But that's not a pit bull. I don't know, I don't know what he is. I bet he lost somebody some money though. Give me your gun.
Kostya Novotny: Shooting him?
Monty Brogan: Yeah.

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Crazy Credits

A Spike Lee Joint

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Connections

Referenced in Happy Endings: Dave of the Dead (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Message"
Written by Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio
Performed by Cymande
Courtesy of Janus Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing Inc.

User Reviews

A very intelligent film that I just couldn't care about.

The cast are excellent, and all deliver perfectly good performances but the script is a little lack-lustre giving them very little to work with.

It is a detailed view of the time before a likable criminal goes to prison for the first time, showing his fears and his friends fears and all the various emotions and guilt surrounding him.

The feeling of paranoia and fear is demonstrated well by Norton with a surprising turn near the end, the film is always consistent and believable.

I just didn't enjoy it. It is believable but not moving, there are dark bits but nothing exceptional and there is no tension.

It would be harsh to say it's a bad film since it achieves what is sets out to do which is show that going to prison can be a terrifying experience, but it just found it too detached.