The 25th Hour

On Tuesday, I took my newly completed screenplay 'Marie's Birthday' to my local Writers' Group for a reading. Truth be told, it didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. One of the main problems was that whereas I thought I was writing a plot-driven romantic comedy, it was actually more of a mood piece. This was as much of a surprise to me, because it was only upon receiving the feedback that I realised it was the more character-based and emotional parts of the story that intrigued me. One of the joys of writing is seeing how a piece changes as you write it.

The problem was, I didn't really have any experience of writing 'mood' pieces. It just wasn't ever anything I had consciously set out to do. What exactly was I trying to achieve?

Two nights later, I finally sat down to watch Spike Lee's 'The 25th Hour', a film I've wanted to watch for years. That was the sort of atmosphere I wanted to achieve.

Edward Norton plays Montgomery Clift Brogan, a drug dealer who is facing his last weekend before being sent to prison for seven years. He spends the two days with his friends and his family. He thinks about what it was that landed him in his current situation, and if it was at all avoidable. How would it affect the people around him? More importantly, just how do you prepare yourself for prison?

New York is the perfect setting for a film of this type. The tragedy that afflicted the city seems to have shaped it's identity so acutely. Few cities have an identity as pronouned as 'the city so famous they named it twice' and so the whole world could see how it measured up to those dark days. Spike Lee's film really gets to the heart of this. At one point, the lead character Montgomery details a long and irate rant about his hatred of the people in his city. There certainly is a sense that hard times can turn you against all others. Yet it's a thought that the character returns to later, but from a different perspective.

Monty's two friends, Jacob and Frank, (wonderfully played by Barry Pepper and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) have their own problems as well as their friend's imminent departure. It all adds up to the sense of three young men who are reaching a point when they realise that their decisions have consequences and are life-changing. There's a great feeling of sadness to all the characters. The actors play their part in this, but for me, it was the writing that really sealed the deal. These friends are always snapping at each other. There's constant tension. As the old saying goes 'they can see the splinter in their own eye, but not the log in their own'. To me, it's fascinating subject matter as how you are with your oldest friends says a lot about you, and the journey you've taken in life.

I'm not overly familiar with Spike Lee's work. Prior to this, I had only seen 'Inside Man' which, although well crafted, also came across as merely a thriller with a high concept. I say 'merely' not to denigrate the genre but only because I had heard that Lee was a very provocative and issue -driven filmmaker. After 'The 25th Hour', it's clear to see that he certainly can create deep, layered characters. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

So, once the film finished, I found my mind racing. Ideas kept coming to me for my screenplay. New avenues opened up. This is what great work does. It moves and it inspires. 'The 25th Hour' did this for me, and I think it has something to say to everybody.

Watch it for: a well-constructed and layered drama between three friends that plays out against the backdrop of a city going through an identity-defining period.