Washington and Lee Strike Gold in Highest 2 Lowest

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have reunited for the 5th time in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.

Playing with the themes of the music industry highs and lows, celebrity culture and how it plays out via social media, the complexities of surround the have and nots of society and culture, plus transcendent loving bonds of a close knit Black family in today’s world this particular collaboration of these two titans worth the watch

When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.

Washington is hands down one of the most powerfully nuanced actors of our generation. From his highly manicured and crisp wardrobe to a warm, yet tense moment with his son Trey (played beautifully by Aubrey Joseph) where the ultimate love gesture is shown being forehead to forehead, he never skips a beat. His timing is impeccable and mostly drawn out within a scene against Yung Felon (A$AP Rocky) where they are expertly spitting out a battle of rhymes. By the way, Rocky does more than hold his own against the 2-time Oscar winner and I only wish we had more scenes with the two of them as those moments were absolute fire.

Jeffrey Wright (Paul), a man with a checkered past is perfection as a single Dad, making it through each day the best he can,  all while trying to right the wrongs of his past is beyond powerful.  The fraternal relationship between Paul and his bestie David King (Washington) is essential to how class tensions play out within the confines of the plot. Wright is a force to be reckoned with as Paul in more ways than one and make this character fascinating to behold.

Lee, whose filmmaking continues to be unapologetically Black, uses his cinematic prowess to not only share our storied diaspora, but pays homage to Black historical figures in literary, music, art, entertainment and sports worlds through production design and the consistent use of New York City as a backdrop.  Lee even calls on Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell’s voice at the start of the film belting out a gorgeous version of Rodger and Hammerstein’s “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” to set up a day that turns out to be anything but beautiful.

Ilfenesh Hadera playing hookie from her star turn as Mamie in “Godfather of Harlem” gives Pam King heart and strength, as well as, being on equal footing with her husband as opposed to just being a wife who is arm candy.

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.