With ‘Highest 2 Lowest,' Spike Lee updates a neo-noir classic

Boston Globe

2 days ago

The respect Lee has for the legendary Japanese director is evident in the ways he reimagines the classic scenes from 'High and Low.' Additionally, like Lee's movies, Kurosawa's films often interrogated the gulf between the haves and have-nots, treating the latter with grace and understanding.
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Lee's tough yet undying love for the Big Apple puts him in the esteemed company of the greatest gritty New York City directors,
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The opening credits are an awesome aerial depiction of Manhattan's east side, with the Brooklyn Bridge prominently featured as a majestic entry point (or a divine exit strategy, depending on your perspective). Lee underscores this sequence with an unexpected choice on the soundtrack, 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin',' the opening song from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, 'Oklahoma.'
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The song's first lyric indicates that we're going to get a more playful Lee than usual — the guy who enjoys ribbing people about everything. This movie is full of in-jokes and clever asides. 'There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,' sings '
But the song reminds us that 'Oklahoma' is also another tale of the haves and have-nots. Even the view itself raises questions. Whose eyes are we looking through? A rich man who sees the city as conquest, or a poor man who sees it as unattainable without criminal means?
Denzel Washington in 'Highest 2 Lowest.'
David Lee/Apple
Lee provides an initial, but not final, answer. Libatique's camera finds record mogul, David King (Washington), standing on his Brooklyn high-rise patio. 'It's a beautiful morning,' he says to no one in particular as he briefly surveys the landscape.
King is the head of the Stackin' Hits record label, a man rumored to have the best ears in the business when it comes to choosing talent. He's a more benevolent version of Terrence Howard's Lucious Lyon from the old Fox TV show, 'Empire,' older and wiser than that memorable hothead, but presumably from the same streets. In other words, a former have-not.
Paul Christopher (Jeffrey Wright) is King's chauffeur and unofficial right-hand man. He's the kind of ride or die you earn in the streets, a man whose intimidating stature hides a gentler nature. Christopher is a practicing Muslim, a detail that makes sense if you know the origins of the character. In Kurosawa's film, he is a very penitent man, expressing regret and deference to his boss. 'Highest 2 Lowest' changes the recipient of Christopher's
penitence to a much higher power.
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Christopher's kid, Kyle (Elijah Wright — Jeffrey's son) is besties with King's son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph). They're inseparable teenagers, attending a basketball camp run by former Boston Celtic Rick Fox, playing himself. King teases Trey about his love for the residents of TD Garden, snatching the green headband from his son's head and threatening to disown him for dissing the Knicks. It's the first of many amusing swipes the world's most famous New York Knicks fan will take at Boston teams.
Screenwriter Alan Fox seamlessly updates the material in ways that will please fans of 'High and Low.' He also keeps the basic plot intact: A wealthy executive (played in the original by
That is, until he realizes that his son isn't the one being held for ransom. Through a case of mistaken identity, the kidnapper swiped his chauffeur's son.
As in 'High and Low,' King is convinced to pay the ransom by his wife, Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera). That film's somewhat useless cops are also transferred to this plot; here, they're led by LaChanze and Dean Winters. Winters brings as much mayhem to the proceedings as he does in those Allstate ads.
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A$AP Rocky in 'Highest 2 Lowest.'
David Lee/Apple
The kidnapper, Yung Felon (A$AP Rocky), forces King to deliver the money on a 4 train barreling up to Yankees Stadium. This gives Lee the chance to stage the original's train money drop. Editors Barry Alexander Brown (a Lee regular) and Allyson C. Johnson craft a virtuoso multi-vehicle action sequence that involves motorcycles, rowdy Yankees fans chanting obscenities about Boston, and an enormous group of people at a Puerto Rican Day parade.
The hectic, exciting scene includes a performance by the famous salsa bandleader, Eddie Palmieri, whose death last week at 88 adds an extra layer of poignancy to his appearance.
'Highest 2 Lowest' gives Washington another meaty role to sink his teeth into, and Lee allows him free reign to bring all his Denzel-isms. Scenes with Rocky are framed with the two on opposite sides of the screen, a visual reminder of the divide between the two characters. Plus, if you ever wanted to see Denzel in a rap battle, this movie has you covered.
Wright is just as good as Washington. He brings a quiet desperation to Paul, made more powerful by the way he anchors it to his faith. I wish he had more scenes, but what's here is commendable. The actors have a rapport that makes you believe in their bond.
If there's a weak link, albeit a minor one, it's Rocky. He's fine, but his character is underwritten. This was also the case in 'High and Low,' but it's a bigger issue here because Lee ups the importance of the character's motivations. By rooting them in the world of rap, the film becomes a pointed commentary on the way impoverished Black and brown people see music as one of the few paths to prosperity. I longed for a deeper dive into these ideas.
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Rocky does get a catchy number to perform, which will satisfy his fans. There's also a spectacular, Oscar-worthy theme song sung onscreen by Aiyana-Lee that proves, yet again, that all Spike Lee movies are musicals under the skin. This is one of the year's best films. It's also one of Lee's finest joints.
★★★★
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST
Directed by Spike Lee. Written by Alan Fox. Based on Akira Kurosawa's film, 'High and Low' and Ed McBain's novel, 'King's Ransom.' Starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky, LaChanze, Dean Winters, Aubrey Joseph, Elijah Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Rick Fox. At Coolidge Corner, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport. 133 min. R (salty language, pervasive love of the New York Yankees — whoo hoo!)
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.