Non-urgent, non-breaking news: Spike Lee is good at directing movies, and Denzel Washington is good at acting. In case you were worried, the fifth time the pair united for a film was not the one that broke their perfect streak, which spans four decades now.
Highest 2 Lowest is based on Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, which was an adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom, which was inspired by the concept of money and power. Kurosawa’s film was a police procedural that spoke to social issues related to post World War II Japanese economy. Lee’s movie features A$AP Rocky and Ice Spice acting. The point is that folks calling this a remake are being a bit reductive.
Washington plays music mogul David King. And it should be noted: He plays him very weird. Weirder than you’d think. Weird in a way that seems like Washington’s performance in Gladiator II could signal a wild final chapter for one of the finest actors to ever do it.
Anyway, King’s label, Stackin’ Hits Records, is about to be sold. In a last-ditch effort, he begs and borrows enough money to offer a board member enough to buy out his shares and regain control of the company he built. Then his son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), gets kidnapped. The ransomer demands pretty much all of the money King just amassed. It’s twisty and turny enough to consider most of the rest to be spoilers, even if it is based on a movie released in 1963 that was adapted from a book published in 1959…
What can be revealed is that Lee has not lost so much as a half-step. His signature ability to poke and prod at racial themes without offering some pedantic, reductive thesis and his trademark “gimmicks” like his fourth wall flirtation still totally rip. Highest 2 Lowest hits on so many issues and themes that it should feel disorganized and incoherent. It should be silly or stupid that it opens with scattered scenes from New York as the entirety of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” plays out. Nope! It absolutely, completely works. How?
How does Lee service a crime thriller, cultural referendum, and intense character sketch simultaneously without shorting one element or another? Let’s go with “experience.” He’s been blurring and bending expectations for almost 40 years, since he first did the right thing. And yet his confidence and bravado don’t come with the defensive “you owe me respect” feeling so many older auteurs flash like corrupt cops’ badges.
In fact, that’s maybe the best part of Highest 2 Lowest, other than Jeffrey Wright. Much of the film’s subject has to do with “the attention economy” and popular culture. King is a relic. Lauded for having “the best ears in the business,” he’s defiant and defensive about his ability to still identify music that matters. But the point doesn’t seem to be that he is right and modern culture is trash. Nor is it that art eventually passes every artist by. It seems to be that we can benefit from having old eyes on new things as much as creative evolution is inescapable.
Also, Denzel Washington gets in a rap battle with A$AP Rocky, there’s a wild chase scene, and the biggest laugh in the movie involves “Jake from State Farm.”
Highest 2 Lowest won’t be remembered as the greatest collaboration between Lee and Washington. Hell, it may rank fifth out of five. Considering what that list consists of, please know that there is no shame in that.
Grade = A-
Other Critical Voices to Consider
Kristy Puchko at Mashable says “Lee is incredible. With Highest 2 Lowest, he richly reimagines Kurosawa’s film within his own lens, showcasing Black pride and New York pride with great joy. With this, Lee grants Washington the room to move, taking big swings as his character does, and delivering one of his best performances in a decade.”
Carla Renata at The Curvy Film Critic says “In this reimagination of a Kurosawa classic, Lee proves that the same story can be told from a completely different lens and still land a visceral reaction for the culture. There’s a lot culturally to unpack in Highest 2 Lowest, but fans will be there for every single drop.”
Rendy Jones says “In contrast to Mo’ Better‘s psychological character study, which was driven by a grounded examination of ego, obsession, and loyal enablement in the context of success, Highest 2 Lowest is fueled by a thrilling power struggle of class. While Lee’s themes draw back to the source material, he confidently makes it his own by walking in the same path as his 1990 flick with a modernized lens.”
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