‘Highest 2 Lowest' review: Spike Lee and Denzel Washington re-team for a heist movie that pays off
It's also serious where it counts — in its reminder that cheapening a product, the thing you make, helps a bottom line only so long. In the McBain novel as well as the 1963 Kurosawa drama 'High and Low,' the protagonist's business was shoes. In 'Highest 2 Lowest,' Lee and debut feature screenwriter Alan Fox trade footwear for music, with Denzel Washington as a celebrated record label executive facing a kidnapping crisis, a scramble to hang onto everything he's worked for and a battle for his own soul.
Some of that is handled on the story's surface. The best of it carves through that surface. 'Highest 2 Lowest' works with all the freedom and genre crisscrossing director Lee embraces so readily, as his latest, open-hearted valentine to New York City frames the ransom narrative.
That narrative unfolds in the neighborhood of Kurosawa's version for about an hour. Music mogul David King (Washington) may be struggling to keep his empire together, as we learn, but the wry, ridiculously white opening-credits underscoring of 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'' accompanying elegant footage of King's penthouse view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan beyond it, sets up a story of Black enterprise and the high cost of selling out.
King, his regal wife Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera) and their son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) share a luxe Brooklyn waterfront perch with King's friend and driver Paul (Jeffrey Wright), whose own son Kyle (Elijah Wright, Jeffrey's real-life son) is Trey's best friend. At basketball practice, an unknown kidnapper grabs King's son for a $17.5 million ransom, only to learn he abducted Kyle, not Trey.
'Highest 2 Lowest' follows the same route, more or less, as Kurosawa's 'High and Low' up until King drops the ransom money from a moving subway. Then director Lee remaps the story, so that King's music milieu is exploited in intriguing and unexpected ways. A lot of detail work pays off; at one point, preceding a sharply realized encounter between Trey and his father in Trey's bedroom, we see crestfallen Trey, safe at home but guilt-wracked for his abducted friend, doom-scrolling through conspiracy theories suggesting this 'nepo baby' staged the kidnapping for personal gain.
Lee's film offers many rewards, many of them performance-based. These rewards may cost you some pocket change in terms of plausibility and such. The wealthy, somewhat callous protagonist (Washington here, Toshiro Mifune back in '63) initially balks at paying the ransom money and wiping out his business to save his friend's son's life. Does changing your mind and doing the right thing when an innocent life hangs in the balance constitute a true and compelling crisis of conscience in 'Highest 2 Lowest'? Or just a strategic delay? The latter for me. Other snags are purely visual, notably the capper to the scene where King must toss the bag of ransom millions at a specific time and place, from a speeding elevated train. The capper relies on such an insane bit of coincidental timing, you may feel as if you're experiencing a series of micro-strokes watching it play out.
But then, you know, you move on, because the payoffs that actually pay off more than compensate. Watching Washington and Wright share any of their scenes in 'Highest 2 Lowest' is pure pleasure. They're two of the greatest screen actors we have, that's all.
Wright can take a simple line like 'Am I being detained?' and turn it into a summit of desperate meaning; it comes when Wright's character, pressing for police cooperation in the botched kidnapping, nearly loses his self-control because the cops in the King's penthouse are losing theirs. Washington, meantime, gives King not just stature, but ripples of conflict and doubt. The storyline needs them, and needs an actor who keeps us guessing. Scripted or improvised, at one point King expresses a private moment of rage wordlessly, pretending to finger-shoot a couple of weaselly colleagues after they've left his office, and then turning the pretend gun on himself. It's not played for laughs. Washington plays it for something a lot more interesting.
Throughout, Lee treats this project with a generous viewfinder, as he and masterly cinematographer Matthew Libatique scope out everything from Eddie Palmieri, Rosie Perez and Anthony Ramos at the Puerto Rican Day parade to Nicholas Turturro screaming 'BOSTON SUCKS!' directly to the camera, warming the hearts of Yankees fans everywhere, none more devoted than the director of 'Highest 2 Lowest.'
A model of conventional thriller suspense, the movie isn't. A stimulating cry for 'Black culture and artistic integrity,' in King's words, and for the true value of a well-made commodity, whether it's shoes or songs — that, the movie surely is.
'Highest 2 Lowest' — 3 stars (out of 4)
MPA rating: R (for language throughout and brief drug use)
Running time: 2:13
How to watch: Premieres in theaters Aug. 15; streaming on Apple TV + Sept. 5.
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A new Spike Lee joint is always a reason to celebrate, and Highest 2 Lowest certainly meets the lofty expectations that accompany it. Marking Lee's fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington, the film is a reinterpretation of the Akira Kurosawa masterpiece High and Low, itself adapted loosely from Evan Hunter's 1959 novel King's Ransom. The movie follows Washington's music executive, David King, whose son gets kidnapped alongside his best friend, sending David on a mission to fight for his family's survival. It's a thrilling ride with an eclectic cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, former NBA player Rick Fox, and rapper A$AP Rocky. Highest 2 Lowest also continues Lee's knack for nurturing new, emerging talent (both in film, like casting Teyonah Parris in 2015's Chi-Raq, and in the classroom, like teaching the next generation of filmmakers at NYU). Here, he casts up-and-coming British singer Aiyana-Lee for a role in the film's unforgettable final scene. 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My mom [Daciana-Nicole Anderson] is a 17-time platinum singer-songwriter. She always had music playing in the house. She always had sessions. I'd kind of butt in and try to be the star of the show. When I was 4 or 5, I was hopping on stage trying to be an opening act in her European tours. I did my own shows at 5 and 6 years old, and entered singing and songwriting competitions at 7 and 8. So it's always been part of my life. Michael Jackson. I was obsessed with him. He married what it is to be a performer, an artist, a songwriter, a producer. He had every aspect of it covered. I was so inspired by that and his work ethic, how he created a world with his music. He's so timeless. You could place Michael at any time, and he'd still be relevant. Yo, so he gave me a very long message on Instagram. He was like, 'Hey, this is the real Spike Lee.' I was like, 'Oh my gosh. What is happening?' I saw the verified signs and thought it could be him. He said, 'Are we cousins? You got Lee in your name, too.' He said he'd been listening to my music all night. I believe he stumbled upon 'My idols lied to me,' which is a song I wrote and produced that went viral on Instagram and TikTok. From there, he discovered my entire discography and loved it. It was probably 6 a.m., and I woke my mom. I was like, 'I think Spike Lee DMed me.' She was like, 'What are you talking about? Go back to bed.' I met him that very same day. No, he's very mysterious. So he won't tell you what he has in mind until you're already in the thick of it, which allows you to be in the moment and not overthink anything. He told me he was working on a movie. He sent me the script, just to get my thoughts on it. A few months later, he started asking for details about me, and then he'd send me some sides, and they included all the details I'd shared with him. I memorized them, and I auditioned for him and his casting team. He didn't tell me anything after that. He was just like, 'OK, let's get some Jordans.' I figured my audition wasn't trash, because if it was, I wouldn't be getting these shoes! Months later, he told me I got the part, that I'm flying to New York in a few weeks, and you're gonna be on set with Denzel. I couldn't believe it. I still don't. I'm always the person who's like, 'It's not happening, actually, everyone's gonna change their mind at some point.' I think there's a part of you that just can't comprehend it until later on, when you're looking back. I was super excited and honored, and obviously I'm a huge Spike Lee fan and Denzel fan. My mom and I were just over the moon. I called my grandma, and she was like, 'Oh my God, I know these people!' That's how you know—when the grandma knows what's up? Now I know we're good. It came up that same month. We spent a week going back and forth, talking about writing a song for Highest 2 Lowest. I probably wrote 10 different songs for the movie. I have a whole album of Spike joints! Eventually, we came to one that he felt was accurate to what the movie represents. He was hands-on and very collaborative, and pushed me to just share my story. That was very freeing for me—especially having been through so many situations in my career where I felt muzzled. To have someone at his level believe in me and want me to be heard without a filter was beautiful. We had conversations about the theme. Sometimes he'd give me tidbits of lines that then inspired me to lean into more of my own story. At that point, he already knew who I am as a person—he's like a big brother now. Because he already knew what I've been through, he was able to tap into that and help me navigate how I can portray it in a way that feels cinematic. One note that he did give me was that I don't have the same chorus over and over again. Write a completely new one every time to continue the story. You're taught that the chorus should be repetitive, but I think in this case, it really propelled the story forward. So it did feel like the song was a movie in itself. It represents the journey I've been through. Having people, whether in my personal life or the industry, put me down because of my age. You know, 'I'm older, so I know better,' right? A lot of people trying to make me distrust my intuition and voice. I think we're moving into a time where we're becoming, or should be becoming, artists first, authenticity first. I think this film has a great theme where it tackles [corporate] versus real artistry, numbers versus real artistry. That's something I've always stood for, and at times it's been hard for me. I feel like this film is a culmination of all the struggles and having that moment of a beacon of light and hope. I have always admired actors and actresses. I've always loved filmmaking. I've always tried to incorporate it into my music videos, that cinematic feel. For me, I just tried to know the lines. So then when I do get on set, I can be in the moment, make it as real as possible. Sula to me felt like who I am. I've been through a situation just like in the scene where an executive was sitting right there, and I was just singing for that person and auditioning. I brought that moment that I already had in my experience into that scene. Denzel gave me a note to just listen. It put me more in my body and being present. And Denzel makes such an amazing executive. His just being there, you have no choice but to be part of that world. It's no longer acting, it's just being. For sure, the movie! I was so nervous, but as soon as I was there with everybody, it was so welcoming. Denzel told me I was a natural! It really made me have confidence in myself. No one had an ego, and those are the best environments to work in. It's a crazy contrast with the music industry. You're part of a certain conglomerate, and you're pushed to fit into a certain mold. This was so refreshing. It's the Age of Aquarius, where we're stepping into an era where you have no choice but to lean into yourself and your authenticity! It was over 20 times! I sang it over and over and over again live. It was like a full-day concert happening, I was shocked. No one was fed up. The whole crew was so amazing. They enjoyed it every time. We were doing it with the same mic you use for acting, so the sound is all technically dead. It's completely raw; there is no effect. Spike is so intentional, and he created a very vulnerable moment. We shot it a lot, but I would have been ready to keep going for another few days. I was prepared to do my own concert after that. This was my band camp training. I saw myself because I did some ADR. Honestly, I was completely shook, because it's always been a dream of mine to act. It's a surreal moment to see yourself on a screen with Denzel Washington and all these incredible actors. I can't believe just being authentic got me to this place. The year that Spike discovered me, I was about to be homeless. It just felt like such a hopeful moment. I'm so inspired to continue down this path. Spike sent me this Italian song [Prisencolinensinainciusol] by Adriano Celentano. And technically, the whole song is just gibberish, so he's not saying any lyrics at all, right? Spike saw this kind of folky song that I posted on Instagram, and he called me. He's like, 'I have an idea. I didn't know you could do folk. I'm gonna send you a song. Check it out.' I thought it was really cool, so he asked me to put lyrics to it. The melody and cadence are there, but we needed lyrics. He just wanted to have this song in the end credits that's this celebratory moment. And so I applied that note and added a new layer to it. I hope I get to release a lot more music, and build a community around it that really enjoys and relates to it. I hope my story can be inspiring to people who maybe feel like doing it yourself isn't enough, where you need to wait for somebody, because waiting has never helped me. Something important to me is sharing that you can be your own manager, your own label. We live in a time where you can do a lot by yourself, and there's no excuse not to vouch for yourself. I also hope to do more movies. Something was life-changing about being on set, and the energy there was so incredible that I'd love to continue that journey. I would love to do this forever.
