Director Spotlight: Spike Lee
The director's latest, Da 5 Bloods, hits Netflix today
Sadly, there has never been a better time for a new Spike Lee joint. As protests of systemic racism continue throughout the country after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police, Spike’s new Netflix movie Da 5 Bloods premieres today. This Vietnam war drama is one of the best reviewed movies of this very fraught and strange year so far. Look out for a review from us next week.
In the meantime, we are recommending a few Spike Lee movies streaming right now. Spike’s entertaining and compelling work has always commented on race, violence, community, and many other things, and now it seems timelier than ever. His provocative masterpiece, Do the Right Thing, is a fascinating watch in light of current events (it’s not streaming, but you should absolutely spend money to rent it). Enter Spike’s world this weekend and be challenged and entertained by the movies of one of the preeminent directors of the last 30+ years.
Billy recommends…
Inside Man (streaming on Netflix)
This feels like a “I’ll do one for you if you’ll do one for me” scenario. Spike Lee was a bonafide superstar at this point in his career, but his persona of a film auteur may have been on the fritz at this point in his career. The beginning of his career was a lot of him doing everything: Writing, directing, acting, and even editing. During the rise of his stardom he began to team up with Michael Jordan to direct Air Jordan commercials and reprise his character of Mars Blackmon (from She’s Gotta Have It). He attended Knicks games courtside as a loud character and a wardrobe that made him always recognizable on TV. He directed music videos for iconic rap songs “Fight the Power”, “Hip Hop Hooray”, and “Headlights.” These types of choices cemented him as an iconic figure. Politely speaking, this made white critics… slow to give him the credit he deserved. Inside Man gave him the opportunity to bring his style and unique lens into the popular heist genre, while extending his opportunity to make more “Spike Lee” style films.
Inside Man is an interesting watch during the current state of protests going on throughout the country. The main reason being the portrayal of the police, businessmen, and the powerful in general. They aren’t necessarily heroes in this movie. Maybe protagonists, but ultimately they are the eyes that are peeling back the layers to understand the mystery. Their discoveries come without showing much humanity. Denzel Washington, playing the lead detective, is shown to have a love life. Besides that there is not much effort to romanticize the good guy. Our two detectives are matter of fact. The supporting cops, while not violent, throw out harsh prejudice at each hostage that is being released. The bank owner, played by Christopher Plummer, is clearly trying to hide something so that his crystal clear image isn’t tarnished. Because of that he enlists the help of a corporate lawyer played by Jodie Foster. She is more than willing to help, but will not hesitate to screw him and anyone else over at a moment's notice.
Instead, the people performing the heist and the hostages are the ones given the chance to be human or providing the information to make things more clear. Clive Owen, playing the mastermind, has small moments with a young child who is being held hostage and before that the child’s father says the only thing he could think about in this moment of terror are his young kids and his wife. This is where the expertise of Spike Lee is welcome and needed. He is purposeful in showing these criminals as disruptors rather than violent. Many directors and writers (Inside Man is brilliantly written by Russell Gewirtz) would have taken a more traditional approach where the good guys are just trying to stop the bad guys.
These protests give the most seemingly simple movies from Spike Lee a new layer to them even if Spike didn’t intend this to be the case. By his very being he is able to bring a new perspective into a genre that is almost always enjoyable by just being made. I hope that when you watch Inside Man you are able to thoroughly enjoy this expertly crafted crime thriller apart from my deep dive. Not every movie needs this analysis. I’m not even sure Inside Man needs it, but what we should do now is invest in our black filmmakers, actors, writers, etc… because even the most silly genre will provide a worthy perspective.
She’s Gotta Have It (streaming on Netflix)
Note: We recommended this movie in April, but are re-posting it here because it’s still on Netflix
There are times to send yourself through film school to try and discover the brilliance of an era of film. 90s cinema has a unique feel that is short and specific, but once it is seen it is undeniable. She’s Gotta Have It is Spike Lee’s 1986 French New Wave-influenced feature debut that is maybe the pinnacle influence for 90s cinema.
The 90s feel cheap, loosely put together, and a time of constant experimenting. Lee uses his tiny budget to bring his unique voice to life, particularly in the scenes he interacts with our main character Nola. She is a young woman who is a puppet master pulling the strings of three men who want her attention solely on them. Her more casual approach to sex and relationships is unique to see from a female protagonist in film and for that is a huge transition into the 90s style.
That casual mentality is the driving energy behind this one. It leads to hard laughs and moving drama. Lee who seems like a perfectionist by trade creates movies that want to seem anything but perfect. Each of Nola’s side pieces are filled with insecurities that make them try-hards. One tries to woo her with his purity. The other with his humor. The last with his self proclaimed perfection. Nola is able to play these chumps with ease at first. Her persona seems like it would create an easy person to root against, but in actuality it makes you fall in love with her.
She’s Gotta Have It, like a lot of first movies from great directors, has a short runtime, which is a great thing because their shortcomings (particularly a tough to watch scene in the second half) go by quickly, allowing the audience to focus on the brilliance and potential. Lee’s first feature film is a landmark influence for the 90s era of filmmaking to come.
Drew recommends…
Malcolm X (streaming on Netflix)
So many biopics of important historical figures go the predictable, unimaginative, lifeless route. None of those qualities would accurately describe a Spike Lee film, so of course his biopic of Malcolm X is something different.
Malcolm X is educational and informative, to be sure, but first and foremost, it’s well-crafted entertainment. Fair warning: this movie is 3 hours and 21 minutes long. But it doesn’t necessarily feel that long because of Spike and Denzel Washington, who plays the famous civil rights activist. The two team up to make Malcolm X into an engrossing 201 minutes.
The film essentially shows us Malcolm X’s path from childhood to his shocking assassination in 1965. We see his early days as a small-time gangster, his imprisonment and conversion to the Nation of Islam, then his falling out with the organization followed by his pilgrimage to Mecca and his changing views on race relations. Denzel is asked to utilize his boundless charisma and talent to carry this movie from start to finish, appearing in almost every scene. Not many actors, if any, can pull that off like Denzel can.
Spike sidesteps many conventional biopic issues and presents Malcolm X as a complex, evolving human being. He’s not afraid to lay out the good and the bad of the man in an unvarnished manner. It may cause you to see Malcolm X in a new light -- I know it did for me. In school I had learned of him as an opposing force to Dr. Martin Luther King’s nonviolence. The more I discover about Dr. King and Malcolm X, the more I come to see they were not the one-dimensional figures we learned about in history class. Dr. King was more strident than his legacy and Malcolm X was less radical than his, especially near the end.
That’s the value in spending 200 minutes watching a dramatization of a historical figure like this, especially from a filmmaker like Spike Lee. You gain a new perspective on someone you may have thought you previously had nailed down, no matter what you thought of them before. Seeing an interpretation of their life experiences portrayed across the screen is a unique opportunity to empathize and understand them.
He Got Game (streaming on HBO)
One of the most culturally visible things about Spike is his basketball fandom. In the late 80s and early 90s, he appeared (as the character Mars Blackmon) in famous Nike commercials selling Air Jordans alongside MJ himself. Since then, he’s become one of the most recognizable celebrity Knicks fans due to his constant presence courtside at Madison Square Garden. In 1998, Spike translated his love of basketball to the screen in He Got Game.
Frequent Spike muse Denzel Washington stars as Jake Shuttlesworth, prison inmate and father of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the #1 ranked high school prospect in the country. Jake is in prison for accidentally killing his wife and Jesus rightfully wants nothing to do with his incarcerated father. The (kind of ridiculous) premise of He Got Game is that the governor grants Jake a week of parole in the hopes that he can convince Jesus to play for his alma mater in return for a reduced sentence.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable, albeit flawed, sports drama. Spike cast NBA star Ray Allen (then with the Milwaukee Bucks) as Jesus Shuttlesworth in his very first acting gig. Despite Spike asking so much of a novice actor to play the lead, Allen isn’t that bad. Some of the dramatic scenes could’ve been much improved with a seasoned actor, but I respect the reach for authenticity in having a real ballplayer in the role. So often in movies like these you can tell in five seconds that the actor or actress isn’t much of an athlete.
Denzel is tremendous and quite convincing in his role, as always. Denzel could read from a phone book and audiences would be enraptured, so give him a part as a hard-ass father turned convict and he will make your movie watchable no matter what else is going on, which is good because he has to carry most of the dramatic scenes with Ray Allen. He Got Game is a must-watch if you consider yourself a Denzel fan.
Spike’s script is rough in spots, particularly in its treatment of women. Milla Jovovich and Rosario Dawson (in one of her first roles) get a decent amount of screen time, but not nearly as much character development. In general, the story feels a little unfocused, even though Spike clearly has interesting things to say about fame, money, family, and the unfair pressure society applies to talented young athletes.
Despite these flaws, you can feel Spike’s love of the game running all throughout He Got Game. The terrific climactic one-on-one showdown between father and son is gleaming proof of that. It’s a basketball movie in love with basketball that avoids easy cliche and sentimentality. More sports movies should follow Spike’s example.