I appreciate it when a remake doesn't simply attempt to retell the movie it is remaking, following its beats and regurgitating its themes. That is what it felt like when Lee remade Oldboy, but with Highest 2 Lowest, a remake of Kurosawa's High and Low, Lee appears to be taking only the basic premise and using it to tell a very different story. While Kurosawa's narrative deconstructed a class divide and exposed how the interests of the upper classes almost necessarily come at the cost of the lower classes, Highest 2 Lowest is more interested in exploring the rediscovery of ones priorities. So while I appreciate that Lee isn't attempting to go over Kurosawa's old ground, I may not have found Lee's thesis as interesting overall despite the fact that Highest 2 Lowest is a collab between two modern legends of cinema who remain amongst the best in their fields.
Highest 2 Lowest is the story of David King (sure it is an on-the-nose reference but I'm here for it), a record mogul who is not only a self-made man but is presented as being almost single handed in building New York's black music scene. When his son is kidnapped, but then he discovers the kidnappers mistakenly took the son of King's driver instead, he is faced with a moral dilemma complicated by the fact his own financial success has been stretched and he's in the process of rebuilding. This is where the two films diverge. Where Kurosawa explored the moral questions of how the central character should use his power, Lee choses to look at how this experience changes King, or refocuses him. I think this is where I found the film less interesting. The idea of a rich and powerful man shaken to reevaluate his priorities is such worn ground and I'm not sure I found Lee offered much new here. I can see why maybe he didn't want this to be about indicting King for his use of power and more on a personal journey but I found that personal journey just less engaging, especially due to how many times we've seen that story play out.
The switch in tone feels a bit of a let down in light of casting of one of my all time favourite actors, Jeffrey Wright who is underused here. He gets some good scenes in the first half but since the film isn't focused on the tensions arising from the two men's positions, his character fades into the background which is a loss truly. Washington is doing good work here though and carrying the film. He hasn't lost his touch and he gives a complicated yet subtle performance that I appreciated.
I have mixed feelings about other aspects of the films as well. The music was confounding to me. The "in world "music" was wonderful. The music contributed by artists that populated this world of a record mogul was easily one of the highlights of the film. At the end there is a powerful performance by singer Aiyana-Lee playing a young, emerging singer which is a show stopper. But the score felt very anachronistic and kept pulling me out of the film. Drossin's score feels like it was pulled from a Marvel movie and never quite fits with the tone of this film. I couldn't quite make sense of what was going on there.
My biggest plus for this film is the way it highlights its location. New York feels like a living, breathing character in this film and Lee's obvious love for the city shines through. It feels lived in and real, not a cinematic version of NYC. So while overall my experience of Highest 2 Lowest was mixed, there was a lot about it that rang true for me.
Highest 2 Lowest
Starring: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, ASAP Rocky, Ice Spice, Frederick Weller, Dean Winters, LaChanze, Michael Potts, Wendell Pierce, Anthony Ramos, Rosie Perez
Director: Spike Lee
Writer: Alan Fox
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