25th Hour

"I was waiting for the rough journey of a condemned dealer for justice and clearing my name, and Spike Lee tells more about a sad farewell to a slightly desperate existence. In the end, I was disappointedly bored for over a hundred minutes, only for an amazing finish to reveal itself, leaving a significantly better taste than the film perhaps deserves." (10/01/2006)

Spike Lee can have whatever opinions he wants, and you don't have to agree with them, but you have to admit he has a sense for storytelling, for characters, and that he's capable of using forms that fit the story. Even in 25th Hour, he chooses scenes that are sometimes very specific, and almost artistic, but they manage to enhance the impression that the story is creating. A successful film about one human fate. (09/08/2016)

Stunning performances by everyone involved, the director's passion for the material, and brilliantly precise dialogues make this film a very unusual and original experience. A barrage of emotions that attacks the viewer from all sides, leaving them no chance to escape. Spike Lee's commitment to the material occasionally leads to a few unnecessary scenes that shatter the overall balance and flow of the plot, but what the hell, it is still strongly above-average filmmaking, and the people behind it definitely have nothing to be ashamed of. A perspective on the modern world, presented in a way that almost nobody can dislike. (01/13/2006)

25th Hour is such a small film, and yet it’s so big! From every minute you can feel the intellectual charge and the director’s commitment and goal. The actors are fantastic, and Barry Pepper in particular is very surprising. The psychological tension in the dialogue could crush an elephant. It’s easy not to give this excellent, distinctive film a full five-star rating, but it’s impossible to reasonably justify why it doesn’t deserve one. (04/10/2003)

I admire the enthusiasm and courage with which Spike Lee took on such an unassuming premise, and I admire the resulting film, which certainly has something to say, first with the precise and sensitive direction, which brilliantly develops the characters and builds up strongly at the end, and also thanks to the excellent cast led by Norton and Hoffman, whose immense talents are literally palpable in every frame. I needed a bit of time to finally get to grips with the film, but in the end its depth of thought and truly great script enveloped me as strongly as if I were the one about to face seven years in prison hell. And that’s a kind of feeling that won’t easily fade from my memory. (11/13/2012)