Picture this: It's the hottest summer in the history of the city and there
is a serial killer on the loose. He could be anyone, perhaps someone you know,
maybe even your best friend. This is the basic premise behind the latest Spike Lee
film, Summer of Sam.
I haven't seen any Spike Lee movies before, so I can't say how this compares to
his previous work. What I can say, however, is that he is most definitely one of
the best film-makers out there right now, and I do mean film.
Before I continue, allow me to make the distinction between a Movie and a Film.
You see, a movie is definitely more star and effects driven, not really concentrating
on the story and very rarely taking risks (unless you count spending countless of
millions of dollars on special effects, that is). A Film, however, is much more director
driven. They focus specifically on story and often character as well. Films take risks
but these risks often push the envelope on what can and cannot be shown on screen, such as
violence and sex. Above all, however, a film is often intelligent viewing, which is why
many reviewers are disappointed with movies: They want a film.
Examples of Movies are Jurassic Park, Die Hard, any event-movie, and virtually most stuff
out there. Films are more along the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ghost in the Shell, and
Crash. Motion pictures that work as both movies and films are Goodfellas, Bladerunner, Heat,
and Sarface.
Basically what I'm trying to get at is that a movie's sole purpose is to entertain, while a
film will try to make you think as well. It's hard to explain. If anyone out there can give me
a better explanation of the difference of the two, please email me.
With that said, Summer of Sam succeeds amazingly as a film. It explores how a group of characters
act and react to the killings during that summer. It opens with killings number six and seven, and
goes on from there. As I said, though, the killings are not the main focus, but rather a group of
this film, but rather the characters. Even though I just saw it, the film contains about eight
major characters, and so it's impossible for me to list all the stories seeing as I wasn't taking
notes at the time.
The film also pushes the envelope insofar as sex and violence goes. Personally, there was far too
much sex in this film, and those scenes often went on for a bit too long. My friend, Adam, said
to me after the film that "Sometimes I felt like I was watching soft-porn." That is one thing which
brought this film down from five stars. If you're squeamiish about violence, as well, don't go
see this movie. The killings (you eventually see them all) are all depicted with disturbing realism
and are all quite graphically portrayed. This said, it's quite gut-churning to watch a woman have
her brains blown out of her skull. And yet, this film needed the violence to set the tone and to
remind us that this really did happen. The sex, however, didn't really add much to it at all.
It was a good film, yes. But was it a good movie? No. It was an okay movie, ranking in the average
range. To begin, it dragged on for a bit too long. It was about two hours, but at times felt like
it could have stood to be a bit less than that. Also, a movie is not character-driven, and that's what
this was: a character-driven motion picture. It was made to tell a story, and not simply to entertain.
That's where this came short as a movie: It simply was not entertaining enough.
One thing which must be noted, however, is John Leguizamo. He's had a number of roles in Hollywood,
many of them not quite pumping fuel into his acting career (though I can't comment on To Wong Foo, Thanks
For Everything, Julie Newmar, for the main reason that I haven't seen it yet). He starred in The Pest,
a fairly bad movie in which he did an amazing job as a comedic actor. He also had a small but important
part in Carlito's Way, in which he did a very good job with such a small part. He played the character of The Clown
in the satisfying big-screen release of Spawn, and his portrayal of that character was very impressive, I
must admit.
Then came Summer of Sam.
If the people in Hollywood will let him, Leguizamo will become one of the most recognized dramatic actors
to come along in recent years. He did an amazing job in this film, and if he's given the chance he can
only get better. I personally hope to see him up on the stage accepting a well-earned Oscar. That is, if
Hollywood will give him the chance to do so. I hope that they do, because this boy has the skill!
So, the bottom line? Go and see this if you want a good film. It's amazing for that. It's thoughtful, and
at the same time disturbing, and at the same time a pleasure to watch. Is it entertaining? Yes, but not as
entertaining as it could have been. At the same time, though, I can't not recommend this film. Go see it, if
not for anything else then for John Lequizamo's performance and Spike Lee's brilliant directing.