Edward Norton Movie:

Editorial Review:
25th Hour is a eulogy, mourning the New York of post-September 11, 2001, and the regrettable life of one of the city's least reputable citizens. Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) isn't a bad guy--in fact he's a mensch, adopting a battered dog in the film's mood-setting opening scene, and leading a decent life with his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson)... when he's not dealing narcotics. Facing a seven-year prison term, Monty spends his last free night with pals (Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman) and visiting his understanding father (Brian Cox), while a Russian drug lord pressures him for getting busted. Lee directs this plotless, no-win scenario as the last gasp of a guy with nowhere to go, and the film (written by David Benioff, from his own novel) suffers from a similar loss of potential, lacking enough focus to make Monty's odyssey compelling. Instead, 25th Hour (which also costars Anna Paquin) rambles from scene to lazy scene, vaguely lamenting that lives have been wasted, some by terrorism, others by self-destruction. --Jeff Shannon

25th Hour [Region 2] Reviews:
25th Hour
2009-12-09 - Spike Lee is a director that it took me a while to watch. Call it the prejudices of growing up in a southern right wing Christian family, but I always got the impression that he was a racist black man blaming all the black race's social ailments on the white man. Having been raised by members of both races, I'm not fond of that type of mentality. Finally, I decided to educate myself on Lee's films, and started with the amazing social commentary of Do the Right Thing. Boy, was I wrong. Since then I've watched a few Spike Lee joints and never got the impression that he was a racist, but that he was highly aware of the racial and social tensions that came with living in the big city, and you see a little bit of that in 25th Hour.

In 25th Hour, we meet Montgomery Brogan, a former heroine dealer for the Russian mob recently pinched and spending his last day as a free man with his family and closest friends before spending the next 7 years behind bars. Among his friends he has: Jacob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a high school English teacher coming to terms with his crush on one of his students (Anna Paquin); Frank Slaugherty (Barry Pepper), Monty's oldest friend who's dealing with the fact that his best friend is a drug dealer and he never tried to stop him; Naturelle Riviera (Rosario Dawson), his girlfriend who may or may not have sold him; and his dad, James Brogan (Brian Cox), who would rather see his son run far away and never come back than go to prison.

25th Hour is more of a character study than anything else. The movie surrounds a party where each member of Monty's entourage comes to term with what's going on in this life. While featuring what's going on in the present, we also see flashbacks that help flesh out the history of some of our more notable characters as Lee expounds on the whodunit of selling out Monty. Lee still approaches the racial and social tensions as Monty fights with his subconscious in an effort to remember that he screwed up his own life. Lee does a great job at presenting the struggles of life in a big city, and as always in a Lee movie the big city is a living breathing character in and of itself.

The acting pedigree in this movie is nothing to sneeze at either. Featuring Golden Globe and Oscar nominated talent such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox, as well as other notable actors like Rosario Dawson and Barry Pepper you expect nothing but the best. The movie completely belongs to the tortured performance of Edward Norton. This performance recalls his work in American History X, while delving into different areas of guilt, depression, and owning your situation. I would argue that Norton even goes deeper into the character, giving a more nuanced performance that is less preachy than he did in the aforementioned movie.

The one main fault I would have to pin on this movie is pacing. For the most part the movie flows perfectly, but the flashbacks, while serving to build up the characters, don't help the narrative flow properly. If you were to ask if this movie is an enjoyable movie and worth watching, I would have to answer with an enthusiastic yes.

4/5

25th hour....
2009-01-09 - All the ranting in this movie make me sick, the F... word is the only thing you can hear but no substance to the story, the only part that deserve attention is at the end when Monty's dad gave him advice on how to carry on with his life after he is out jail.....I do not recomend this movie to anyone but I do respect the opinion of everybody else about this movie and I you like it or curious about it...go ahead...watch it

A Masterpiece
2009-01-09 - Well I'm coming late to the party since this film came out six years ago, but better late than never. Just caught this movie for the first time on cable tv and boy am I happy I decided to watch it. This was a "oh heck, let's give this movie a shot since nothing else is on" type of movie. What a terrible loss it would have been not to see it.

I don't use the term "masterpiece" loosely. As a matter of fact I can't remember the last movie I referred to a movie as a "masterpiece." If any film deserves that title it's 25th hour. Edward Norton has to be one of the best actors of our time. The rest of the cast is sensational as well. What a brutally honest, moving tribute to the resilience of New York City and the resilience of the human spirit to endure in the face of hardship and tragedy. It's also about how the choices we make in life affect so many people around us. This film reminds me very much of Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, an amazing film as well that deals with the choices life presents us and the consequence of those choices. Not coincidentally Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in that film as well along with Ethan Hawk. All tremendous actors in their own right.

Anyway, I could go on, but I've said what I needed to. For plot reviews, well you can get that from the other Amazon reviewers or from the Amazon synopsis. I just felt it would be criminal to see a film like 25th hour and not let a potential Amazon customer know how I feel about it. If you value incredible acting, fantastic writing, a well developed storyline, and extremely thought provoking messages in your movies, then by all means buy this movie. You'll get all of that and then some.

Brilliant!
2008-12-10 - This resonated and awakened within, held me hostage and didn't let me go until the very end. Poignant, warm, serious, absorbing, plus the eye popping visual shots Spike Lee brings to the screen, simply put, was brilliant...absolutely brilliant! Ed Norton, is certainly spectacular...very much enjoyed because this is one movie, I couldn't figure out right to the end. Loved it!!!

Fabulous movie!!!!
2008-11-29 - Edward Norton is so good in this film. If you enjoy his movies, then I would get it. It is a must have.