HE GOT GAME A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 1998 David N. Butterworth
**** (out of ****)
Spike Lee got game. Ain't no two ways about it. Should anyone tell you otherwise, consider this for starters:
The music for Lee's latest film, "He Got Game," is by the late 20th Century composer Aaron Copland, he of the sublimely obnoxious opus "Appalachian Spring." Now I've never liked Copland, especially "Appalachian Spring." But in "He Got Game," Copland works. Majestically. Even the snatches of "Appalachian Spring" on the soundtrack didn't cause me any discomfort. Not at all. In fact, I loved it. The brass; the cacophony of sound--it just worked. Coupled with prominent rap songs by Public Enemy and "He Got Game" exhibits one of the most esoteric song scores in recent memory. Credit that to filmmaker Lee, the man with--among other talents--game.
Game with a capital g, that is.
Lee's latest film takes two complex themes and expertly blends them into what appears, on the surface, to be a relatively straightforward story: if incarcerated felon Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) can convince his basketball-playing, high school hot-shot son to opt for the Governor's alma mater, his stay in the state penitentiary will be curtailed. The themes, as presented, seem simple enough too: the high cost of fame, and the even higher price of having accidentally destroyed something you loved.
"He Got Game" reveals the surprising sadness of being wooed by both slick professional agents and countless universities promising assurances of the good life, and how that pressure can sometimes be too enormous a burden to bear. And with startling honesty, this profound difficulty is contrasted with Shuttlesworth's own personal tragedy.
At the beginning of "He Got Game" it's not clear why convicted Attica inmate Shuttlesworth is doing time, And that's another strength of Lee's film; the story details unfold with precise, revelatory specificity, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle snapping into place.
Washington, if not already, should be deigned a national treasure. His work here is superlative, surpassing almost anything he's done before. His portrayal of Jake, a loving, supportive family man at odds with his son, is by turns sensitive, tough, and ultimately human.
The supporting performances in "He Got Game" are worthy of mention too: Milla Jovovich ("The Fifth Element") as a strung-out Coney Island hooker; Lonette McKee as Jake's wife, Martha; Zelda Harris as their resilient daughter, Mary. All are commendable. And last but by no means least, NBA star Ray Allen, a brilliant acting debut as Jesus Shuttlesworth, the son torn by promise, prestige, and conflicting family loyalties.
Stylistically, Lee's film is a marvel, covering the court with a variety of cinematic techniques: documentary-style commentary from famous college hoop coaches (such as Temple's John Chaney); kinetic, solarized jump-cut sequences that play like a Nike commercial; slow-motion basketball montages that will make even a non-believer sit up and take notice--all backed by Copland's blaring horns and harmonics.
I don't doubt for a minute that this accomplished director could make even a game of cricket appear exciting.
"He Got Game" is, pure and simple, one slam dunk of a motion picture.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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