DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

Neha says
Disturbing, real, layered, political and provocative-DO THE RIGHT THING is simply a brilliant example of a director in sync with his times. Be it thematic threads of racism, immigration, violence, a need for identity and belonging or even a critique on the black man prototype -Lee uses the film’s platform not just to convey the black man’s voice but also the common man’s voice.

Lee also uses this story of a predominantly black, lower class Brooklyn community to meditate on two different political school’s of thought-one of Martin Luther King who preached non-violence as the right thing to do and one of Malcolm X who supported violence in the face of self defense. But these political dogmas have a different reality in the real world and that’s the crux of Lee’s storytelling. And Lee’s not advocating one over the other-he’s just putting together a case study of different individuals and contrasting mindsets and seeing how they ping pong off each other, testing how if at all these two theories could coexist . So whether it’s black vs. white, love vs. hate, peace vs. violence, politics vs. the common man’s angst-it’s quite revealing to see how a simple catalyst as a heat wave can destruct the delicate peace treaty of the neighborhood and when it comes down to it-the right thing to do is rather undefined, subjective and even manipulated for self-serving causes.

Lee spends the first 45 minutes to painstakingly create a sense of community and while it’s energetic, it never feels overcrowded and while the characters reveal themselves in textbook fashion, they are just so intriguing and nuanced at a human level. Be it the radio jockey (Sam Jackson) who reports on the days events or three middle aged black men sitting on lawn chairs, talking about all and sundry-from politics, to fatherless children to Korean immigrants and how they are stealing the black man’s job to Smiley (Roger Guenveur Smith) who stammers incomprehensibly about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) a friendly neighborhood drunk (and my favorite character) to many more small interesting characters, Lee’s real approach to his characters and his keen eye for the mundane has you involved.

But the heart of all the action is at an Italian man’s pizzeria. Sal (Danny Aiello) prides himself for the goodwill he has with the locals and believes he belongs to this black neighborhood. His son Pino(John Turturro) on the other hand hates the neighborhood, the black man and his life and projects his anger onto a black delivery boy Mookie (Spike Lee) On a very hot day Buggin Out(Giancarlo Esposito) along with rap music lover Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) decides to shut down Sal’s pizzeria as Sal doesn’t have any black man’s photographs on his wall of fame but when an accident ensues, a riot breaks loose with suppressed rage finding a violent voice and all the characters coming together and participating in the chaos.

The performances and characters work but it’s really the well realized setting that is the glory of the film. It’s commendable that at the time inspite of the controversy and politics of it all, Lee made a film that raises important questions and one that doesn’t aim to be politically correct. By the end you know and can appreciate Lee for what he’s trying to do even if at times the conflict feels a tad outdated. The ambiguity about what it means to “do the right thing” in a real context, in an urban world with complex individuals is what provokes Lee’s narrative and leaves us equally affected with ample food for thought.

Ira says

Do the Right Thing is the best Spike Lee film I’ve seen. Only the writer -directors 3rdfeature, he does all the ‘Right’ things here, and does em well. Saturated, orange- drenched, aggressive street dancing and a minimally clad, provocative Rosie Perez dances to the opening credits as Public Enemy’s energetic rap song, “Fight the Power” plays loudly in the background. This is a tune that will repeat itself at two other significant points in the film and serve as a reminder of the character of RADIO RAHEEM, who’s fate brings in the films unexpected, but very effective climactic point.

I loved how Lee creates a mood from the word go, how a radio jockey, the one and only Samuel L Jackson (hell, salute to him for holding his breath for some really, really long bits of dialogue in this one) opens the film providing an unmistakable ethnic flavour instantly. And as gently political as the commentary begins to get, it is no sooner drowned by a flurry of characters and a host of vociferous but casual references to the HEAT- a very symbolic, very metaphorical heat that everyone is talking about.

The heat, Radio Raheem and his big boombox are three motifs that are hard to ignore throughout the film. Reappearing unexpectedly and always intrusive, RADIO and Public enemies are for me as overtly political as the film gets. While abusive language and expletives abound, (hell almost every sentence has a cuss word be warned), and tensions between groups rise during the course of act one, they fall as easily, community seems stronger than anger, and the bonds of friendship or family overpower any suggestions of imminent aggression. Apart from a short scat like interlude somewhere along the films halfway point, where characters from different ethnic groups carry out verbal racial attacks towards one another, and the climax of the film in act 2, its not until the closing credits, marked by contradictory but powerful quotes from Martin Luther & Malcolm X, do we feel a burning undercurrent of racial, or as Lee would go on to call it in his fifth film, ‘jungle’ fever, of any kind. And thank god for that.

For the most part, Lee focuses on his story and the world around Sals famous Pizzeria instead. The saturated colour palette he uses in the film creates an atmosphere of sensual mellowness and scorching temperatures; the precise sentiments that the African American community existed in. And I loved how everything is always accompanied by rich, soulful music. Music is central to the films atmosphere, ranging from rap to Latin to jazz and blues, often cued by Jackson’s voice who speaks as a wise, rhyming, omniscient narrator . Lee’s style is unique and engaging that’s for sure, and his direction very assured for a director barely in his thirties. I really liked too, the camera work- the tilted Dutch angles, hand held unsteadiness, the slow pans, zooms and low angle shots convey just the right sense of a suburb that is somewhere, slightly askew.

Lee’s good at directing himself , giving MOOKIE a very real, underplayed, endearing sort of indifference. Not the violent type, MOOKIE’s a guy who takes long showers on his lunch break, a guy who isn’t the best husband or father but still looks out for his sister and his friends and shows moments of tender affection for his shrill Hispanic wife, a slightly hysterical Perez. “Do you love me?” She asks him on the phone with a pout and a whine. “I dedicated a song to you on love radio, if that aint love I don’t know what is?” he whispers back into the receiver. He works in the film, so does she, even as they yell and argue and giggle like teenagers through a sexy ice cube scene with nudity and dim lighting.

Lee does well in balancing characters and colours without too much drama. While arguments occur, voices are raised and name-calling is normal for almost everyone in Brooklyn, what I loved most is the almost constant mirth and humour in the film. A lot of that comes from its very vibrant, very colourful, very memorable characters. So we have SAL, VITO & PINO- the Italian famiglia, Da mayor & Mother Sister- an African American older couple, Jackson’s ‘the love daddy’, Radio Raheem, and the 3 idling old timers who are too lazy to do much of anything, and go around remembering the old times, teasing one another and cursing the ‘Korean across the street’ who’s successful grocery business is to them, just a ‘beep beep shame’.

A social commentary, and a film that integrates the ‘we and ours’ vs. the ‘us and them’ into its narrative well, this one to me is a character driven drama and comedy above everything else, Lee ensures a tone of levity throughout, making the harsh reality of the final half hour that much greater. While racial concerns and prejudices, communal issues, and minority specific details ranging from African American, to Italian American, to Hispanic and Korean are part and parcel of the landscape, (Lee’s favorite setting, Brooklyn, NY circa 1989), he doesn’t let his tone get bitter, partial or judgmental. Tensions rise and dissipate, fights occur and dissolve into laughter, relationships strain, ease and strain again, its hot, its differentiated, but its home, and humour helps sail it all through. Till inevitably, something, somewhere has to explode. And it does. As Mookie goes to meet Sal to get his money at the end of the film, there’s a shot of him bending down to pick up some crumpled notes before he walks away. An image that reminds you of the one lingering question that the film leaves you with, what is the right thing and who decides? This time, you do.