Lee and Denzel’s fifth collaboration is a mix of many highs and 2 many lows
It’s tough to avoid comparing a remake to the original, especially if the original is a five-star masterpiece. Such is the case for Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, which is based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 procedural crime drama, High and Low (which is based on a 1959 book, King’s Ransom by Ed McBain). Kurosawa’s High and Low explores stark class divisions within post-war Japan, challenging the characters with life-threatening moral dilemmas and utilizing a detailed police procedural plotline to expose these divisions, literally and metaphorically. Lee moves the 1960s Japan setting to a present-day New York City, shifts the protagonist’s business empire from a shoe company to a music label, and abandons High and Low’s slow burn pace for a thriller, all of which deliver a mixed bag of results.
Highest 2 Lowest, like the Kurosawa film, is about the accidental kidnapping of a wealthy businessman’s chauffeur’s son, and the ensuing ransom demand and investigation. David King (Denzel Washington), a music mogul, is on the verge of buying complete ownership of his music label when kidnappers inform him that they’ve taken his son. Shortly thereafter, the characters learn that the criminals took Kyle (Elijah Wright), the son of David’s chauffeur, Paul (Jeffrey Wright), mistaking him for David’s son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph). The first thirty minutes of the film, in which these events take place, feature a few atrocious performances and an obnoxious musical score, contributing to an uncomfortable, overtly maudlin tone. Composer Howard Drossin’s (The Protector; The Man With Iron Fists) music isn’t bad on its own, stylistically mimicking Lee’s usual musical collaborator, Terence Blanchard. However, because Drossin’s score is plastered over long, poorly acted emotional scenes, it feels out of sync with the escalating gravity of the plot. Thirty minutes in, if you think you’re watching a soap opera, you’re not alone.
Jeffrey Wright is magnificent, and it’s a shame his character gets sidelined as the film goes on. Paul, having the lowest class standing in a room filled with law enforcement officials and the wealthy King family, must suppress his emotions when clear moral decision-making is eluded. In High and Low, the chauffeur character is a stand-in for class subordination and insurmountable debt, continuously burdened with guilt for a situation out of his control. In Lee’s film, Wright portrays Paul as an honest father figure with a mysterious past, yet his presence is sidelined so that Denzel can, well, be Denzel. Denzel brings a few affectations and facial ticks to the role of David King that we haven’t seen before from the actor. As King pushes himself deeper into the kidnapping investigation, Denzel’s ability to radiate a combination of coolness and danger is on full display, especially when he ultimately confronts the kidnapper, Young Felon (a strong but brief performance by A$AP Rocky). Denzel is great, I just wanted more of Wright.
Highest 2 Lowest’s mid point diversion from the original High and Low’s detailed procedural to a Denzel Washington star vehicle revenge thriller is when we learn what the movie is most interested in exploring. Lee is less preoccupied by class differences (maybe because he’s focused on it so many times before) than he is intrigued by the rapidly changing nature of pop culture memeification, celebrity cancellations, news cycles, and the idea of accumulating wealth on the backs of tragedy and bad PR. Yet, in the movie’s most energetic moments, Lee uses Highest 2 Lowest to celebrate the colorful canvas of New York City’s diversity, from a Puerto Rican parade to a chanting crowd of New York Yankees fans on the subway. Unfortunately, none of Lee’s chosen themes are explored further than through a handful of sparring lines of dialogue and more than a few obvious visual symbols and set designs.
There’s no denying that Highest 2 Lowest begins operating at a higher level during and after a train chase; the dialogue begins to spark, the musical cues are more tonally appropriate, and the themes begin to shine through. Lee’s traditional flourishes are throughout, including double dolly shots and surreal cutaways, imbuing scenes with fourth wall-breaking urgency and offering stylistic informational tidbits. Though Highest 2 Lowest isn’t top tier Spike Lee, it’s still a capable thriller with a message that demands further unpacking. Highest 2 Lowest may also spark interest in High and Low among the uninitiated, which is a worthwhile cause.
—–
Highest 2 Lowest opens in select theaters nationwide on Friday, August 15th, and streams on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 5th.
