Folks, ya know, sometimes it's kinda of disheartening to watch TALK BACK on the site. In the last set of reviews of Spike Lee's SUMMER OF SAM, I watched as people started hurling 'sell-outs' at Spike like no tomorrow. EXCUSE ME? Ok, now personally Spike Lee bugs me a bit when he gets on his holier than thou rants about what certain directors should have characters say in their films, or whether or not a white director should be directing 'black' stories. And perhaps I could understand if the TALK BACK focused on a certain hypocrisy coming from Spike directing a 'white or Italian' story. Except that, I think Spike should be able to direct and tell any story he feels fit to unfurl on our screens. But to the issue of Spike selling out... Yeah, suuuuuuuure.... Spike sold out to make the commercially viable film starring no stars, about the horror of a true life serial killer from the perspective of a largely italian community. Oh sure, that has BOX OFFICE HIT written all over it. But ya know what? The folks writing these reviews are saying this could very well turn out to be his best film. And to sort of remind you what this film is about, the hand written letter below was the first letter the police received from SAM during the fearful killing period. This wasn't some popcorn Hannibal Lecter fictional character, this was a real unknown predator hunting and killing seemingly random people. Dead. This film is about the fear that unleashes in a community... that's not a sell out topic by any stretch of the imagination... Here's the review...
Hey Harry, I love your site, and I figured I should contribute, since I was at the Boston screening of "Summer of Sam" and I loved it.
People in the forum seem to think that Spike Lee is just going to fill this movie with negative portrayals of white people, which (since I saw it), I will tell you isn't really true. It's about this Italian neighborhood, so all of the characters are Italian (including John Leguisamo (sp?), but whatever). It's kind of sociological study about how the neighborhood reacts to the fear that Son of Sam unleashes. Actually, the white people are represented mostly positively- everyone is basically good and decent, beneath their various hang-ups, whether these are chronic cheating (Leguizamo), drug use (everybody), or gay prostitution (Brody). The police are good, and just want to protect everyone from Sam. The mob is good, and just wants to protect everyone from Sam (actually, the mob guys are rather unimaginatively portrayed here, one of the film's few weak points).
Another small problem is that, in a subplot, Spike tries to create a microcosm of how fear drives people to suspicion and crazy behavior, but we don't meet enough characters to make the microcosm work- we all know who is going to turn on whom from almost the beginning.
The performances in the film are great. Leguizamo (I'm going to spell that differently every time) gives a performance I never could have expected out of the creator of "House of Buggin.'" He is the dramatic center of the movie, playing a sort of everyman in terms of the Son of Sam story, while simultaneously giving a very interesting and suprisingly sympathetic portrait of a chronically unfaithful husband to a very beautiful and naive Mira Sorvino. The cut I saw was very long, and I'm afriad that Spike might cut out some of the John and Mira story, which would be a shame, because it was (I think) the best part of a very good film. There's one sex scene between John and Mira which I can only hope makes it into the R version, because it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. You guys are going to love it.
Other standout performances include Adrian Brody as a childhood friend of John, who is now a pseudo-British unsuccessful punk rocker. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some Oscars were given out for this film, and Brody would top the list. He lends great believability and likability to what could have been a one-note, annoying rebel character.
I don't know the name of the actor, but the guy who played Son of Sam was also great. He was simultaneously really scary cause he was so crazy and really funny because he was so lame. The body language this guy uses in the murder scenes is spectacular.
Spike's part as a TV reporter was actually pretty good, except in one scene in which he goes to Brooklyn to interview some black people for the "darker perspective" on Son of Sam. Good god, that scene wa so long, unfunny and self-referential that it really broke the reality of the film. I hope Spike realizes his error and cuts it. The audience loved it, though.
The soundtrack, while I realize it was just spec, should not be touched. It was a perfect mix of completely emotionally inappropriate disco and kick-ass early punk. There's a great montage set to the Who's "Teenage Wasteland" (not the actual title of the song, but you know which one I mean).
Finally, one point I want to touch on. Spike constantly has characters talking about the Yankees, and in one really wierd and funny murder scene draws parrallels between Son of Sam, the .44 Calibre killer, and Reggie Jackson, No. 44. It's really wierd and kinda creepy. Perhaps to just show how completely Son of Sam is tied up in the city that spawned him, or maybe to show that while people cheer Jackson but fear Berkowitz, the mass fascination and hold on the public's imagination is the same. And the only Red Sox fan in the movie got the shit kicked out of him. Oh, my poor Sox.
This review was sort of long- sorry. Oh, about the spoilers, none of the stuff I mentioned was really too plot-essential. The characters, rather than the events related to the killings, drove the film forward.
Um, call me Billy Pigrim.
