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Ok, so I have a tilt here because I love Spike Lee I even liked what I consider his weakest film 25th Hour. There seems to be a point in all his films where there is a “click” a point in which all the elements come together if only for a brief moment and zero in on the REAL subject of the film. Be it a character, a character flaw, some universal truth, or more often, a universal question. This film has several of those, unfortunately you have to sit through a protracted setup (only parts of which seem genuine) and some bits and pieces of topical flotsam (some of which gel, some going absolutely nowhere) where some of the more important plot points get lost in the shuffle.
The basic story is one of a pharmaceutical executives fall from grace and the consequences of his decision to blow the whistle on his corporate bosses. The REAL story is what he does to earn money once his accounts are frozen and he is desperate for cash and the ensuing emotional and financial chaos resulting from his new “profession.”
Anthony Mackie plays John Henry 'Jack' Armstrong the fallen biotech VP, and the man who must deal with the consequences of doing the right thing. After witnessing the suicide of a colleague and casual friend (a shocking scene that just comes out of nowhere, in this case thats a good thing), and the scrambling of his boss (the always stunning and talented Ellen Barkin) and then his bosses boss (Likable, yet in this role miscast, Woody Harrelson) he discovers a disc containing the video diaries of his now dead scientist friend and colleague. He watches them and decides to plow the whistle on his shady bosses shady business practices. Thus we have the aforementioned protracted setup.
All of this leads to some fairly typical “corporate evil” preachiness and a side trip into Mafia territory that is distracting at best. The real meat of the story comes when an ex-girlfriend (beautiful but again miscast, Kerry Washington)returns with an unusual proposition.
The corporate intrigue and the “A Few Good Men” style courtroom drama are all window dressing here, Armstrong's real dilemma comes when he is sired out to 14 lesbians desperate for children. Now you might think that, as a man, Armstrong would be happy to have a cattle call of women lined up to bed him, but as it turns out his ex (and one of the aforementioned lesbians) still holds a place in his heart. Not to mention the fact that the pursuit factor no loner exists so Armstrong is reduced to what one of the women calls “a sex object.”
As with most of his post-Do The Right Thing work Lee attempts to slay far too many dragons at one sitting. And consequentially misfires more than he hits. But this film has so many moments of sheer brilliance that if the viewer has the patience to sit through the filler, are more than worth the price of admission.
One pivotal scene in particular, that plays out almost as a more mature version of “Chasing Amy,” is masterful in its use of dialog, and cuts to the very heart of what the film really is about, betrayal. Another plus is possibly the funniest and realist set of sex scenes in recent memory, with all the humor of Kubrick's super speed screw in A Clockwork Orange, and none of the clinical detachment.
The middle third of the film is absolutely brilliant, although I think that far too little time was spent focusing on his family and his best friend (the infinitely likable Q-Tip, of Tribe Called Quest fame). Although their screen time is used in large part to be the moral center and the center of irony in the film, they don't come across as little Jiminy Crickets they are portrayed as real human beings with real human flaws. I would have liked to see more of both instead of the long and boring setup and the over the top preachy courtroom scenes.
The problem with this film is that all the good stuff is so spread out, making the transition from the personal to the political a difficult one. The best thing about this film are the actors, the worst thing about that is that many of them are underutilized or given poor exhibitions of their talent (John Turturro comes to mind as the mafia don and father to one of his “clients”) I would say that about a good 20 minutes of the film should have been left on the cutting room floor.
But if nothing else Spike expands his range here ironically, by nawwowing his focus. The scenes of personal dialog between characters are free, easy and insightful, especially touching and funny are the few scenes shared between Mackie and Q-tip. And of course the outcome is an interesting one, some would say its too tight a wrap but it FEELS right.
With the exception of Washington and Harrelson the casting is spot on. Mackie isn't very believable as the corporate exec, but as a man caught in in unusual situation he is very well suited to this role. Ellen Barkin, though underutilized brings an air of sophistication to every film she is in (even the laughably bad “Switch”) and in the few scenes she is in she does the same for this film. She Hate Me is by no means a perfect film but it is a good one, if for nothing else the questions it raises about personal responsibility and commitment. It also grazes the idea of sexual identity, not directly enough in my opinion, but with great effectiveness.
The basic story is one of a pharmaceutical executives fall from grace and the consequences of his decision to blow the whistle on his corporate bosses. The REAL story is what he does to earn money once his accounts are frozen and he is desperate for cash and the ensuing emotional and financial chaos resulting from his new “profession.”
Anthony Mackie plays John Henry 'Jack' Armstrong the fallen biotech VP, and the man who must deal with the consequences of doing the right thing. After witnessing the suicide of a colleague and casual friend (a shocking scene that just comes out of nowhere, in this case thats a good thing), and the scrambling of his boss (the always stunning and talented Ellen Barkin) and then his bosses boss (Likable, yet in this role miscast, Woody Harrelson) he discovers a disc containing the video diaries of his now dead scientist friend and colleague. He watches them and decides to plow the whistle on his shady bosses shady business practices. Thus we have the aforementioned protracted setup.
All of this leads to some fairly typical “corporate evil” preachiness and a side trip into Mafia territory that is distracting at best. The real meat of the story comes when an ex-girlfriend (beautiful but again miscast, Kerry Washington)returns with an unusual proposition.
The corporate intrigue and the “A Few Good Men” style courtroom drama are all window dressing here, Armstrong's real dilemma comes when he is sired out to 14 lesbians desperate for children. Now you might think that, as a man, Armstrong would be happy to have a cattle call of women lined up to bed him, but as it turns out his ex (and one of the aforementioned lesbians) still holds a place in his heart. Not to mention the fact that the pursuit factor no loner exists so Armstrong is reduced to what one of the women calls “a sex object.”
As with most of his post-Do The Right Thing work Lee attempts to slay far too many dragons at one sitting. And consequentially misfires more than he hits. But this film has so many moments of sheer brilliance that if the viewer has the patience to sit through the filler, are more than worth the price of admission.
One pivotal scene in particular, that plays out almost as a more mature version of “Chasing Amy,” is masterful in its use of dialog, and cuts to the very heart of what the film really is about, betrayal. Another plus is possibly the funniest and realist set of sex scenes in recent memory, with all the humor of Kubrick's super speed screw in A Clockwork Orange, and none of the clinical detachment.
The middle third of the film is absolutely brilliant, although I think that far too little time was spent focusing on his family and his best friend (the infinitely likable Q-Tip, of Tribe Called Quest fame). Although their screen time is used in large part to be the moral center and the center of irony in the film, they don't come across as little Jiminy Crickets they are portrayed as real human beings with real human flaws. I would have liked to see more of both instead of the long and boring setup and the over the top preachy courtroom scenes.
The problem with this film is that all the good stuff is so spread out, making the transition from the personal to the political a difficult one. The best thing about this film are the actors, the worst thing about that is that many of them are underutilized or given poor exhibitions of their talent (John Turturro comes to mind as the mafia don and father to one of his “clients”) I would say that about a good 20 minutes of the film should have been left on the cutting room floor.
But if nothing else Spike expands his range here ironically, by nawwowing his focus. The scenes of personal dialog between characters are free, easy and insightful, especially touching and funny are the few scenes shared between Mackie and Q-tip. And of course the outcome is an interesting one, some would say its too tight a wrap but it FEELS right.
With the exception of Washington and Harrelson the casting is spot on. Mackie isn't very believable as the corporate exec, but as a man caught in in unusual situation he is very well suited to this role. Ellen Barkin, though underutilized brings an air of sophistication to every film she is in (even the laughably bad “Switch”) and in the few scenes she is in she does the same for this film. She Hate Me is by no means a perfect film but it is a good one, if for nothing else the questions it raises about personal responsibility and commitment. It also grazes the idea of sexual identity, not directly enough in my opinion, but with great effectiveness.
Last edited by Othelo; 04-25-05 at 09:38 PM.