Summer Of Sam (1999)

In the hot summer of 1977, New York City is in the grip of terror from the Son Of Sam (Michael Badalucco), an insane serial killer who murders randomly and sends bizarre letters to the media describing his incoherent state of mind. Against this backdrop, a small mostly Italian enclave in the Bronx is put under the microscope. DO THE RIGHT THING may be Spike Lee's masterpiece but this is a great film too. Lee uses the true life tale to look at how an aimless group of ignorant thugs turn to vigilantes, at a marriage destroyed by infidelity, at the fear of what's different or what we don't understand as the punk rock movement emerges. It's an ensemble piece with John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody at its center as a promiscuous hairdresser and a wannabe punk rock star respectively. Lee perfectly captures the hysteria and fear of a city in distress, the drugs-sex and rock and roll excesses of the 1970s. The film is both real and surreal (the Son Of Sam sequences) as Lee uses every bit of his talent to punch his narrative home. The acting is uniformly excellent with Leguizamo doing his best screen work. The potent underscore is by Terence Blanchard. The large cast includes Mira Sorvino, Ben Gazzara, Patti LuPone, Anthony LaPaglia, Bebe Neuwirth, John Savage, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Mike Starr and Spike Lee as a TV reporter.