Summer of Sam (1999)

	Directed by: Spike Lee	COUNTRY USA GENRE Crime/Drama/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Summer of Sam RUNNING TIME 142 minutes
	Produced by: Jon Kilik Spike Lee
	Written by: Victor Colicchio Michael Imperioli Spike Lee

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Vinny	John Lequizamo	½
Ritchie	Adrien Brody	½
Dionna	Mira Sorvino
Ruby	Jennifer Esposito	½
Joey T	Michael Rispoli	-
Woodstock	Saverio Guerra	-
Bobby Del Fiore	Brian Tarantina	-
Anthony	Al Palagonia	-
Brian	Ken Garito	-
Gloria	Bebe Neuwirth	-
Helen	Patti LuPone	-
Eddie	Mike Starr	-
Detective Lou Petrocelli	Anthony LaPaglia	-
Detective Curt Atwater	Roger Guenveur Smith	-
Luigi	Ben Gazzara
Simon	John Savage	-
David Berkowitz/Son of Sam	Michael Badalucco	-
Midnite	Michael Imperioli	-
Voice of Harvey the Dog	John Turturro	-

Review

An ambitious piece from filmmaker Spike Lee, who aims to weave the lives of a handful few in Bronx, New York City in 1977 in with the fear and chaos created by the ravagings of the serial killer known at the time as Son of Sam. This was a time when the effects of the sexual revolution clashed with traditional cultural values, argues Lee, especially in the Italian-American neighbourhoods of Bronx. The movie is rich – on characters, milieus, juxtapositions and contrasts. It’s also almost engrossing. There are powerful lead performances by John Leguizamo, as the womanizing hair dresser Vinny, and Adrien Brody, as the contrary, bisexual Ritchie. But Lee cannot quite communicate and bring to life the low-level gang culture he tries to blend into the story. These characters remain superficial and unexamined – a facet which drags the picture and our engagement in it down, especially seen in light of the obvious ambition invested in it all. The same can largely be said of the personification of Son of Sam himself (played by Michael Badalucco). He remains more of a concept than a character or even the important historical figure he ostensibly was for the conception of this story. Summer of Sam is approximating some kind of greatness, but if you set the bar too high, you also proportionally increase the chance of failure.