Do the Right Thing: Getting to Know a Block
Do the Right Thing
Directed by Spike Lee
Written by Spike Lee
The review:
Spike Lee spends a lot of time letting us get to know the residents of a neighborhood block* which, by the time the big thing happens at the 90-minute mark your feeling are stronger than they would have been if the big thing happened fifteen minutes in. Aside from the tactics of the police** much of this movie felt very familiar 31 years later. The main players all turn in great performances*** and despite the fact I watched this on a not-hot day, that increasing tension of heat and city was aptly recreated.
The verdict: Good
Cost: Possibly free through one of the services? I cannot recall.
Where watched: at home
Consider also watching:
- Crooklyn
- Training Day
- The Hate U Give
- Queen & Slim
Further sentences:
*This feature was what sunk the film for me when I first attempted to watch it in the late 90s. It’s a very slow film. It was so slow that I gave up and watched something else, or perhaps took a nap.
**Then: going in swinging with their billy clubs. Now: drawing a gun and shooting.
***You know who isn’t good at acting though? Joie Lee. Rosie Perez is also a little raw. (Though she’s great in the dance sequence that opens the film!)
Questions:
- Mookie’s big action after the terrible action. What do you think?
- Tell me your favorite character or characters. (Mine were the three guys (Robin Harris, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison) sitting in front of the red wall, though the Mayor was great too.)
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
The opening sequence, which featured the song “Fight The Power”, was written especially for the movie. Rosie Perez dancing to the song took eight hours to film.
Other reviews of Do the Right Thing:
- Helen O’Hara, Time Out
- Kathleen Carroll, Daily News
