Here's one of those films that propose an ethical
dilemma for me as a reviewer. Nearly flawless as a
production, but not the kind of movie I enjoy
watching. Nonetheless, I had some intention of giving
"SOS" an "A-", but the 2 hour and 16 minute
production ran about 16 minutes over. A surprisingly
significant mar to an otherwise awesome feat of
filmmaking.
"SOS" is a grizzly picture about how an Italian
neighborhood in the Bronx reacts to the serial
murders of the (unfortunately real life) infamous Son
of Sam. It's not really about the killer himself,
kind of like the Titanic wasn't really about a boat
breaking in half (poor analogy, I know). Oh and
unlike the later, not a very good date flick.
The main character, Vinnie, is rather seemly (not
unlike most of the others). But Spike Lee, shows a
great deal of directing and scripting prowess with
the ability to make us actually care about people, we
would probably keep our distance from in real
life.
There's plenty of graphic violence as you'd
expect, but also a surprising amount of rough sex.
These are seldom love scenes ... if you get my
drift.
So why do I praise Spike? Picture-perfect
diaglogue is evenly and realistically dispersed among
multiple actors. Also, these actors give fantastic
performances, especially Vinnie (John Leguizamo) --
you've got to blame that kind of thing on the
director. Lastly, save for the aforementioned
needless 16 minutes, the film progresses its tension
level smoothly from beginning to end. There are also
the other masterfully crafted elements like
multi-dimensional characters that grow.
So why don't I recommend it? Bluntly ... it's no
fun. It's a downer. It started me resonating with an
uncomfortable unsettling feeling that continued 10 or
12 hours after the movie. Though, Spike would
probably pat himself on the back and shout out
"mission accomplished" at my last remark -- I don't
find it amusing. In my view, the only positively
redeeming worth of the film lies in Vinnie's
painfully learned lesson. But, it's a lesson to which
I'm hip. I didn't need 2+ hours of discomfort for it
to have made an impression; however, those rougher
and tougher than myself may.
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