From NetFlix:
Monty Brogan has 24 hours to spend with his two best friends and his girlfriend before he’s sent to prison for seven years for dealing drugs. Spike Lee directs this meditative drama set in post-9/11 New York.
Edward Norton does it again! His portrayal of a drug dealer, Monty Brogan, facing a seven year black hole of almost certain prison sexual abuse is powerful, unflinching, sympathetic and pitch perfect. In fact, some good part of his open expressions of fear center around that sexual abuse, so much so that towards the end (no spoiler) he addresses that problem in a unique way. What was “sympathetic” in his presentation was his openly tearful regret for having taken such a wrong turn in his life, a decision that is next to impossible to correct.
He interacts meaningfully with:
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as his friend Jacob Elinsky. Hoffman is perfect as a repressed man ashamed of his position as a trust-fund baby.
- Barry Pepper is wonderful as his other best friend Frank Slaughtery who loves Monty but says that Monty ruined many lives with those drugs and deserves his punishment. He played Lucky Ned Pepper in True Grit.
- Rosario Dawson played Monty’s girlfriend Naturelle Riviera. She played Connie in Unstoppable.
- Brian Cox plays Monty’s father James Brogan. He was Argyle Wallace in “Braveheart”.
Because the plot, characters, and acting are all so good, I consider this film a
DO NOT MISS!