Summer of Sam (1999)
Director: Spike Lee Cast: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Saverio Guerra, Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Gazzara Screenplay: Victor Colicchio, Michael Imperioli, Spike Lee Producers: Jon Kilik, Spike Lee Runtime: 142 min. US Distribution: Touchstone Rated R: strong graphic violence and sexuality, pervasive strong language, drug use
Copyright 1999 Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Before going into Spike Lee's Summer of Sam, I knew that it wasn't actually about the serial killer who terrorized New York citizens before his capture in 1977. It actually centers around a group of people who lived in the same neighborhood as the Son of Sam, and focuses on the way they reacted to a feeling of confinement based on fear. John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino star as Vinny and Dionna, a married couple sexually unsatisfied with one another. The film emphasizes their relationship, in addition to Vinny's relationship with his friends in the neighborhood.
Summer of Sam is an ambitious, visually striking picture. It reminded me very much of Lee's previous film, He Got Game, and also has many of the same problems. The picture is very unfocused, and often doesn't seem to have much momentum (it's also needlessly long, and meanders towards the end). The focus is distractingly skewed between the troubles with the married couple and the neighborhood paranoia. And there are numerous scenes featuring the Son of Sam himself, and Lee dramatizes most (if not all) of the killings; I found all of these sequences unnecessary and gratuitous -- the film isn't a psychological thriller about the killer himself, and his presence doesn't feel right.
Problematic as it is, Summer of Sam still harnesses an amazing sense of tension; the film actually features one of the most suspenseful scenes I've seen in recent years (those who have seen the film will remember the scene in which we expect both Vinny and Dionna to be killed by the Son of Sam). The performances are all very good, with particularly strong work from Leguizamo and Adrien Brody (as Vinny's punk-rocking friend). I liked parts of the movie very much, and I found it to be an authentic painting of the period, but I left the theater not knowing entirely what to make of it.
Psychosis Rating: 6/10
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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