gavin6942
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.When watching this film, knowing it first went through the hands of Martin Scorsese, one cannot help but wonder how Spike Lee does it different than Scorsese would. The obvious answer is that Lee is able to provide an authenticity that Scorsese may not have. While it is not true that only black men can tell the stories of other black men, but few handle the material like Lee does. Scorsese would likely have shifted the emphasis to Rocco Klein, the white cop.And that would have worked, as well. Klein (played by Harvey Keitel) is the co-protagonist, as his search for the killer is an important plot point. Roger Ebert says, "He is a weary professional who acts as a witness to death. There is a tendency in his business not to linger too long over the death of one young drug dealer, but he cannot get stubborn questions out of his mind." Keitel does a fine job in this role, and it is nice to see him take his gritty gangster image and put a spin on it towards law enforcement.
Chris L
Martin Scorcese was originally scheduled to direct Clockers, would he have done a better job than Spike Lee ? Did the latter lack ambition or should the novel be blamed for being not catchy enough ? Those are a few questions emerging after finishing this movie.Because if the story is rather interesting and carried by good cast (though under-exploited), it lacks intensity in order to really implicate the viewer. The scenes follow each other in a certain monotony and shallowness inevitably prejudicial, and the dramatic progression is extremely weak, not to say almost non-existent. Therefore, you're never captivate by this chronicle and the overlong passages don't help either. One could also regret an editing a bit sloppy with flashbacks and others not that pertinent.Anyway, in the ghetto movie genre, others have depicted much better, and with a lot more grip, the everyday life of these neighbourhoods, like Menace II Society for example.
jamesxgamble
This is one of my all-time favourite films. Director Spike Lee adapts the Richard Price Novel, set in New Jersey, to his hometown and favourite movie backdrop: Brooklyn. It is often said that films never live up to the books on which they are based, but in this case I think the movie out performs the novel. This is because the book can be slow moving at times, and the action is separated by long passages of writing. However, the film chops all of these slow parts out, and the result is a film that keeps you engaged from start to finish. Spike Lee uses music perfectly to compliment the tone and mood of each scene, be it hip-hop in the urban playground, the acoustic interludes of Seal and Des'ree, or minor key, intense jazz to accompany drug use in doorways and nooks, and the final scene's soundtrack is absolutely inspired.Delroy Lindo plays his king-pin character with such comfort, at times it is hard to imagine that he isn't that person in reality! Harvey Keitel and John Turturro work well as the detective double-team, conflicting over whether to take the easy close-by-arrest, or the moral crusade to find the truth behind the case at the heart of the film. Mekhi Phifer is impressive in many of his scenes as the central character, who keeps you guessing to the end on whether he deserves your sympathy or not. For me, Lindo's performance is the standout turn.The cinematography is luscious, and the colours and compositions make this film a visual feast. But more importantly, the natural dialogue of the film and the delivery of nearly every line really reinforce the fact that you are watching a film about real situations. Overall, I give this film my maximum rating of 9.5 stars. If you like this film, you'll love The Wire Season One, and you also might want to check out another overlooked film, Jason's Lyric.
lylewins
Let me say that I just finished the novel, and have only just watched the film.I try not to be one of those people who reads a book, watches the movie, and then tears the latter apart, but there are some significant issues that come to mind when considering this adaptation.1: There is just too much music and scoring.Thus the whole thing feels artificial, or like an after-school special come to life with ghetto undertones. I'm not quite sure why Spike Lee would have chosen this presentation, though perhaps it was to create an expected emotional bond with his audience that he felt was lacking due to the large ensemble cast, or maybe he didn't trust the performances of his actors. Regardless, the overall effect cheapens the drama and removes all the real life consequence the story and characters naturally possess (as written).2: The acting comes across as preachy.Consequently, the whole film seems like it trying to prove a point (and nothing else). On the one hand, it's saying to the kids growing up in the projects that, "This is no way to live. Let me show you how." And on the other, it's reaching out to the dominantly white congress, senate, electorate & bureaucracy, and trying to show these people the human cost of their ignorance, bad public policy making & flawed humanitarian ideals and voting.So the thing is, Richard Price's writing is excruciatingly realistic, and his novel, though not without its genre tropes, is equally exacting, and poignant.This film, however, feels like a very well-hearted effort to render the former, but that gets lost in way too much ideology.
AD
