The Best and Worst of Spike Lee

From Do the Right ThingtoWhen the Levees Broke, Spike Lee has been waking people up to the complex realities of inequity and conflict in America through the power of cinema. Sometimes controversial, sometimes funny, and always stylish, Spike Lee is one of America's most renowned and accomplished film-makers.

A short list of his films displays Spike Lee's diverse genre interests - Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, She's Got to Have It; Inside Man.

These films cover the ground of bio-pic (Malcolm X), cultural, high-cinema (Do the Right Thing), controversial romance (Jungle Fever), "action" bank heist (Inside Man) and indie drama (She's Got to Have It). Each film bears the colorful stamp of Spike Lee's particular sense of style, developed as a film student at NYU.

It is easy to say that Spike Lee has become an iconic director, working outside of Hollywood, it is tempting to say that it is also his personality that has become iconic. Spike Lee starred as Michael Jordan's sidekick "Mars" in a series of Nike commercials in the early 1990's and Lee has been a prominent New York Knicks fan with front row seats for decades now. He is a household name with a recognizable face and a memorable speaking voice.

Certainly, however, Spike Lee's films carry the greatest interest...and they are a bit of a mixed bag. Early in his career, Spike Lee made films about race and identity - films that were powerful and brave. The strongest work of his career came out of this period.

The Best of Spike Lee.

Do the Right Thing is an explosive film about race and cultural conflict within a Brooklyn neighborhood, featuring a strong ensemble cast (including Spike Lee himself clad in spandex and biker shorts). His most enduring film, Do the Right Thing is a swansong to an era of New York City that was fading quickly from the streets of Brooklyn. It is also a prologue to change, and a catalogue of the people and personalities of the late 1980's.

Among its many virtues, the greatest strength of Do the Right Thing is its authenticity. The characters feel real. They speak with a panache and a wit that are entirely rooted in the situations of the film. The old men who sit on the sidewalk commenting on the goings-on are as fresh and compelling today as they were when the film was made. Because they were real then, they seem real now.

A synopsis of the film would suggest that this is a film about racial conflict in a Brooklyn neighborhood when a white shopkeeper finds himself at odds with a small group of young black men. This is true enough. On a deeper level, Do the Right Thing is a film about the disintegration of a neighborhood and the difficulty of giving others the benefit of the doubt.

Though the conflict ultimately draws a line between white and black, the sparks that start the fire have nothing to do with color. The white shopkeeper cares sincerely for his family and his friends, some of whom are black. And there are plenty of black members of the neighborhood community who would have stood up for the shopkeeper had events turned out just slightly differently.

The warmth and depth of humanity in this film comes across very directly, which makes the drama and the disappointments of the story all the more compelling.

This is a must see film and should be on every cinephile's shelf. It was Do the Right Thing that yielded Spike Lee's only two Oscar nominations.

What to watch for in Do the Right Thing:

The Soundtrack.

Pay attention to the organic sound track, a la John Cassavetes.

The Build-Up.

Through attention to atmosphere (the heat, the noise, the small dangers of city life), Spike Lee carefully brings the film to an explosive climax.

The Worst of Spike Lee.

Inside Man was a highly touted bank heist movie that simply does not deliver. Quite opposite to the organic, natural character of Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee's Inside Man is marred by wooden acting and a script that bears a single point of interest, which is the revelatory ending.

By the time we get to the end, we are beyond caring and just want the film to be over.

As much as the idea of Spike Lee heading a heist film was prior to watching Inside Man, the film leaves on hoping that Lee will return to the more urbane areas of topic and theme where he has thrived.

What are the flaws of Inside Man?

The acting.

Perhaps a single criticism should not so impale a film. Perhaps a film that is poorly acted can still be well executed. In the case of Inside Man, with a small principal cast, an objective observer is forced to concede that no amount of execution would save this movie.

Clive Owen headlines the cast of Inside Man, an actor who is known to be often un-emotive and stilted. Spike Lee puts a mask on him. Enough said.

Resources:

IMDb.com