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46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A critically underappreciated film, January 27, 2002
Given the press reviews that came out upon this movie's release and a number of the reviews here, I'm going to buck the trend and suggest to you that Summer of Sam is actually one of Spike Lee's very best films. Perhaps it was marketed ineffectively, but Lee clearly never intended this movie to be about The Killer. Rather, Summer of Sam is about paranoia, conflicting ideas of community, and trusting one's self against and through an intense period of: the heat, economic downturn, sexual adventurousness, and drugs that were the late 1970's. The Son of Sam's killing spree in NYC in 1977 triggered a fear and panic in the city that often made people who knew each other for years suddenly suspicious of one another. At the time of its release this movie was roundly criticized for Lee's portrayal of Italian men as "stereotypical 'Guidos,'" but I would ask those folks who make such claims to consider this: if we say that a stereotype is a fixed, unvarying conception of a person, then why aren't all the Italian men in this film exactly the same in their actions and manners? Were there no Italian men in NYC'77 who were quite like the three "Guidos" in Summer of Sam? And do you honsetly believe that Spike Lee intends for these three men to represent ALL Italian men? Of course not. And do we see examples of Italian men in Summer of Sam who are not "Guidos"? Several. The characters are rendered masterfully, I think, and John Leguizamo gives an amazingly rich and layered performance as a man who cheats on his wife BECAUSE his curious religious convictions convince him his sexual desires are too perverse to ask of her. When he comes perilously close to two of Sam's victims, Leguizamo's character undergoes an intense but ultimately doomed period of guilt and self-doubt that he tries to address but cannot--his desire to be good to his wife is very real, yet this desire is overpowered by his sexual desires. In this vein the movie becomes an investigation of how people, "good" and "bad," address their own desires--for sex, for status, for security. And the paranoia created by he Son of Sam's killings creates strange bedfellows indeed: the "Guidos" protect an effeminate gay local because he is a good customer in their drug trade, but they harrass a guy they grew up around because he starts spiking his hair and listening to punk music; the local mafia boss bankrolls a neighborhood block party so people can have a good time in relative safety . . . because he's also provided the "Guidos" with baseball bats to protect everyone. This movie is far more complex than most reviewers seem to indicate. An excellent score and soundtrack that never overwhelms the action, and a gifted cast that delivers memorable performances, many of which should have been award-worthy (Leguizamo, certainly, but also the poignant and determined Mira Sorvino character, Adrien Brody's nearly-doomed punk rock dreamer, and the alarmingly unheralded Jennifer Esposito as the local tramp who really wants to change who falls in love with the punk rocker). The film's climax, in which the wrong man is attacked and beaten by the "Guidos" (having been lured out of his house by his own conflicted friend) plays simultaneously with the capture and arrest of the real killer, and it is so masterfully rendered I don't think I'll ever forget it. Bookended by commentary from notorious/ubiquitous/beloved NYC columnist Jimmy Breslin, Summer of Sam, as Lee surely did intend, is far more than a movie about seeming stereotypes and disco music during a scary time in the city. It deserves a closer look by anyone interested in Lee's singular grasp of human dynamics and desires. It would be a shame for people to write this movie off as a misfire, for it is no such thing.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Summer Of Sam, January 16, 2000
New York, Summer 1977 and, in addition to one of the hottest heat waves the city has ever experienced, David Berkowitz - The Son of Sam - prowls the neighbourhoods for over a year killing indescrimately. However, although Berkowitz' activities form the central backdrop to the story, the film is far more interesting, presenting as it does more of a snapshot of neighbourhood life at the time. Director Spike Lee is an acknowledged master of the genre (whose work is akin to that of Britain's Mike Leigh) and he utilises the usual elements to reinforce his points. A montage of genuine footage and news reports interject with the story of John Leguizamo's (Vinny) adulterous marriage to Mira Sorvino and his best friend Adrien Brody (Richie, complete with awful English accent early in the film). Richie is a bi-sexual-by-convenience punk rocker who is totally misunderstood and eventually outcast by the low-life neighbourhood wise-guys, ultimately becoming their target as the most likely Son of Sam suspect. Vinny's divided loyalties to both the local bone-heads in regard his friend Richie and the consequences of his numerous affairs once uncovered by his wife nicely heighten the personal tension felt by the whole community. And the understandable paranoia is all here: the rush for brunettes to turn blonde overnight (Berkowitx seemed to favour the murder of dark haired individuals), the local cops forming an unholy alliance with the neighbourhood Godfather for help in the case, the heat wave and ensuing blackout that led to widespread looting, fingers being pointed by everyone at anyone for the most tenuous of reasons. A smouldering melting-pot then of story-telling, nostalgia and, indeed, fear. Berkowitz' crimes are summarised by sledgehammer inserts which, although brief, do truly shock and Lee takes time out to give a brief insight into the madness that spurned him on, right down to the infamous black dog he purported as telling him to "kill, kill, kill"! With a film score utilising Club hits of the day (disco, disco, disco!), the obligatory punk workout and even some tracks from The Who (who we could take issue with as being proclaimed "The Fathers of Punk" but as Lee wasn't in the UK when Punk was born we can let this slide, just this once), there's some nice touches with cameo slots given over to the Studio 54 and Platos Retreat scenes. All in all, this is another solid accomplishment from Lee that not only does justice to a number of entwining stories but is also an accomplished piece of nostalgia. Way above average, this definitely deserves two hours of your attention. The Mad Ferret, London, England
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful movie, but Sorvino was great!, October 1, 2000
The only thing that comes remotely near saving this movie is Mira Sorvino's performance as the wife of a manipulative, sex-crazed, abusive man.This movie is ALLEGEDLY about Berkowitz, but it sure gets messed up in that effort. The story drags, the sex scenes are horribly irrelevant and disturbingly abusive and graphic, and a lot of the "plot" has nothing to do with serial killers - but messed-up, drug-addicted small-time criminals. Mira Sorvino was great, but I hope she's in better movies in the future. this sad excuse for a movie is a uncreative, uninspiring, repulsive mess and I hope never to see anything this horrible again.
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DVD ~ Ulli Lommel
DVD ~ Edward Norton
DVD ~ Adrien Brody
~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1999
DVD ~ Richard Belzer
