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Poster (c) Touchstone Pictures
Edward Norton is often considered one of the greatest actors of the current time. I happen to agree with that statement, as his performance in Fight Club really made me appreciate him more. Now, in 25th Hour, a movie about the last day of drug dealer Monty Brogan, Norton puts in another top-notch acting job. It’s adapted by David Benioff, from his novel, which, I have to say, is very odd. And, like movies such as The Green Mile (which was a direct and literal adaptation), it’s very similar. It has the same things wrong with it as the book, but, also like the book, it’s well written but doesn’t go anywhere.
Monty (Norton) deals heroin, but, as we find out in flashback form (there were a lot more in the novel, I didn’t really think it would work well as a movie), he was caught and has one more day until he goes to Otisville Prison. He lives with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson). He spends one last night partying with his friends Frank Slattery (Barry Pepper), a high-strung, egotistical Wall Street guru, and Jakob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in yet another sad-sack role), a high school English teacher who has the hots for a 17-year-old student, Mary (Anna Paquin). While Monty’s out, he must find not only who turned him in, but who will still be with him after seven years.
I learned one thing from this movie: hell has frozen over. It only got one nomination, a Golden Globe nomination for best music (it wasn’t that great), while it deserved acting Oscars for actor and supporting actor. Norton is his usual self when he’s acting up there-he really shows great comfort in his ability to play any role. He looked even better with his goatee. Even though I had heard about the movie of 25th Hour before I had read the book, I could only imagine Norton as this role. He probably won’t be thought of by the Academy until he’s been out of films for fifteen years, makes a comeback film, and winds a lifetime achievement award.
But, where was this film going? When we find out who turned in Monty, it’s put in such a nonchalant format that we don’t really care. If it were something that had more of a twist to it, something that added that little “bam” to the fondue, then it would have been more interesting. Also, everything led up to what? What did the two hours of finding out about Montgomery Brogan’s last day have to do with what happened at the end? Of course it’s development, but did it really lead up to an interesting denouncement? The ending was open-ended, like in the novel, and that’s ok. However, I do wish we would have known which path the car went down, or some hints. I do have a guess, but there’s really no way of figuring it out. One last point that I thought was unnecessary was the role of Brian Cox. He plays Monty’s father, and does a good job of hiding his accent, as he does in most of his movies. Cox is a great actor, but was he needed in about two scenes?
I did think it was interesting the way the evening went out, and, as I was reading the book, I didn’t know what was going to happen. The subplot between Jakob and Mary (albeit unnecessary) was unpredictable, and it conveyed emotion. I really felt for the characters, especially for Monty. I do wish, however, I learned more about Kostya, Mary, and Uncle Nikolai, but the character that they brought towards us in the beginning were sufficient. The one scene that was most effective for me was the scene with Monty in the bathroom, and the mirror. He looks at himself insulting everything in post-9-11 New York, which is the setting. Why Spike Lee decided to make this a major point, I don’t know, but it didn’t really matter to me. As you’re watching 25th Hour, you may think to yourself, “Where is this going?” You’ll probably be too engaged in the life of Monty Brogan to care.
Rated R for strong language and some violence.
Review Date: May 23, 2003