As directed by Spike Lee, Clockers is one of 1995’s most anticipated, but ultimately also one of the year’s disappointing films.
Grade: C+ (**1/2* out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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The movie could have been more focused and powerful if directed by Martin Scorsese, who was initially attached to the project but had to give up helming due to another project (Casino), thus only serving as co-producer (with Lee’s vet Jon Kilik).
Scorsese he had previously collaborated with Price on his 1986 film The Color of Money, for which Paul Newman finally won his first and only Best Actor Oscar.
As co-penned by Lee and Richard Price, based on the latter’s gripping novel, the tale revolves around Strike (newcomer Mekhi Phifer), the hardest-working 24-hour drug dealer (or nicknamed “clocker”) in New York City.
Strike’s industrious nature and ambition attract the attention a local drug kingpin (Delroy Lindo), who offers him an opportunity for advancement, get rid of the competition by becoming a crack dealer.
When a rival dealer turns up dead, Strike finds himself at the center of the investigation for a murder he didn’t commit. Strike’s law-abiding brother shocks everyone by confessing to the murder, but the dedicated (borderline obsessive) white homicide detective (Harvey Keitel), unconvinced that Strike’s brother is the killer, won’t settle for anything but the truth.
Last Sequence: Spooler Alert
Sitting in a car, Rocco threatens Strike that if he ever sees him again he will arrest him, let Andre beat him, then arrest Rodney on the same charges and make sure that Rodney and Strike share a cell in prison.
While Tyrone is playing in his apartment with the train set that Strike gave him, outside, Rocco and Mazilli respond to the homicide of Scientific, a member of Strike’s old crew.
The film ends with a shot of Strike looking outward on a moving train in the New Mexico desert, apparently far away from the city.
Lee pays too much attention to the social context, the urban environment, instead of focusing on the moral dilemmas and compromised identity of his interesting central character, Strike, resulting in an overly diffuse, and only intermittently involving crime saga.
Clocker represents a missed opportunity in capturing the bite, momentum, and gusto of the novel written by Richard Price, whose other scenarios include Mad Dog and Glory (1993) and the 1995 remake of Kiss of Death.
Strangely, crucial details of Keitel’s persona and background are omitted, which turns him into a familiar movie type rather than individual creation, further hampered by his interpretation (probably misguided by the director).
Acting of debutant Phifer is good, and so is that of John Turturro, as Keitel’s NYPD partner, and the rest of the male-driven ensemble, including Keith David, Pee Wee Love, and Isaiah Washington.
Lee seems less concerned less with Strike’s spiritual condition than with the survival of the surviving entire community.
As co-written and directed by Lee, Clockers unfolded as a series of flashes, making the narrative hard to follow or to connect yo on an emotional level.
A commercial flop, Clockers grossed over $4 Million its first weekend and ended its run with $13 million, failing to recoup its considerable budget of *25 millio.
Film poster: Homage or Rip-Off
Critics and film buffs were noticed that the poster, designed by Art Sims, was similar to the artwork of Saul Bass for Preminger’s 1959 masterful courtroom drama, Anatomy of Murder. Sims claimed that it was a homage, but Bass regarded it as a rip-off.
See Below/
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Theatrical release poster by Saul Bass
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Cast
Harvey Keitel as Det. Rocco Klein
John Turturro as Det. Larry Mazilli
Delroy Lindo as Rodney Little
Mekhi Phifer as Ronald “Strike” Dunham
Isaiah Washington as Victor Dunham
Keith David as Andre “The Giant” Ashley
Sticky Fingaz as Andres “Scientific” Atkins
Regina Taylor as Iris Jeeter
Fredro as Elvis “Go” Atkins
Tom Byrd as Errol Barnes
Lawrence B. Adisa as Stan Gilmore
Hassan Johnson as Trevor “Skills” Jeeter
Michael Imperioli as Det. Joey “Jojo” Thompson
Mike Starr as Det. Shawn “Thumper” Ferrell
Paul Calderon as Jesus at Hambones
Lisa Arrindell Anderson as Sharon Dunham
Spike Lee as Chucky “Big Chucky” Bridges Sr.
Harry Lennix as Bill Walker
Michael Badalucco as Michael “Lil Chief” James
Peewee Love as Tyrone “Shorty” Jeeter
Credits:
Directed by Spike Lee
Screenplay by Richard Price and Spike Lee, based on Clockers by Richard Price
Produced by Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Jon Kilik
Cinematography Malik Hassan Sayeed
Edited by Sam Pollard
Music by Terence Blanchard
Production company: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date: September 15, 1995
Running time: 128 minutes
Budget $25 million
Box office $13,071,518
DVD Collection
“Clockers” is part of Spike Lee DVD collection that also includes “Jungle Fever,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Mo’ Better Blues,” and “Crooklyn.”
