January 12, 2003 -- "The 25th Hour" is a gritty, tragic tale of a life on the rocks, told by one of America's premier filmmakers, Spike Lee. This is a solid film with interesting subject matter, some great acting performances and a wonderful musical score.

Edward Norton of "Red Dragon" stars as Monty Brogan, a mid-level drug dealer who is headed to prison for seven years tomorrow. It is his last day of freedom. Brogan visits old friends, his high school, his father, James (played by Brian Cox of "The Ring"), and his girlfriend, Naturelle Riviera (played by Rosario Dawson of "Men in Black II") before making a final decision on what to do with his life. He figures he has three choices, kill himself, run, or do the time. A key scene in the film has Brogan in front of a mirror, venting his hatred at just about every group of people you can think of, from ethnic minorities to sports fans. Each of the many insults begins with the F word. The last insult is directed at himself for ruining his own life. It is an eye-opening scene, and sets up much of the rest of the film.

Brogan's friends, Naturelle, Jakob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman of "Red Dragon"), Francis Xavier Slaughtery (Barry Pepper of "We Were Soldiers") and Kostya Novotny (former Baltimore Ravens football player Tony Siragusa) all represent some of the social groups that Brogan vented his anger towards. Slaughtery, a high-flying stockbroker, seems to be as angry at Brogan as Brogan is at himself. Slaughtery is angry because he knew Brogan was throwing his life away, but never did anything about it. Elinsky, a repressed Jewish liberal school teacher is too absorbed with his own problems, including guilt over a crush he has on one of his students, Mary D'Annunzio (Anna Paquin of "Almost Famous"), to worry much about Brogan. Novotny, a member of the Russian mafia, is an associate of Brogan's in the drug business. His relationship to Brogan is complex.

In his final hours as a free man Brogan goes to a party with his friends thrown by a local mob boss. The invitation to this party is one he cannot refuse. The mob boss wants to know if Brogan is going to turn state's evidence against him. He wants to know if it is safe for him to allow Brogan to continue to live. Brogan also wonders who turned him in to the police. Was it Naturelle? When his father criticizes him for his life of crime, Brogan responds by pointing out his father wasn't too proud to take his drug money to cover debts. There is a lot on Brogan's mind on this, his last day. How will this day end?

This is a tense and intriguing film about the payment due for a life of crime. It is a subject too seldom explored in American cinema. Usually criminals are shown in more glamorous light. They kill with impunity and sell drugs with impunity. They dress well and always have great-looking women hanging around. This film paints a different picture. Brogan was riding high all right, but the day of reckoning has come for him. Looking back on his life, with the aid of some flashbacks and stories told by friends, there is a chance for him to evaluate the choices he made. He doesn't make excuses. There is no attempt to sugar coat what Brogan has done. All of us should take stock of our own lives in this way, but seldom do. The day of reckoning usually sneaks up on us without warning. In this film, we see it coming, and that makes it more poignant. The musical score, by Terence Blanchard ("Barbershop"), is masterful, especially during one of the powerful scenes overlooking "ground zero" where the World Trade Center towers once stood. Norton, Hoffman, Pepper, Dawson and Cox all turn in powerful performances in this haunting film. It rates a B.

For more information on this film, including cast and crew notes, trailer, synopsis, production notes, downloads, images (on the hours), click on this link to the official home page of The 25th Hour.