Mais e Melhores Blues

After the commercial and critical success of "Do The Right Thing," in which Lee announced his arrival as a major player, he choose to follow up his breakthrough with a more personal film. If you examine history, it seems all iconoclasts choose to do so after their first big success ("The Conversation," "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind," "Talk Radio"), and Lee decided to pay homage to what he's always referred to simply as "the music." Set in then-present day 1990, "Mo' Better Blues" tells the tale of Denzel Washington as Bleek Gilliam, a selfish trumpeter who fronts his own jazz quintet in an upscale Brooklyn club. The strength of the film deals with Bleek juggling his loyalties. On the love side, Bleek is caught between two women; Clarke is a sexy bombshell in constant need of Bleek's attention who's too busy centering in on his music. She's also an aspiring singer hoping Bleek will give her a chance to shine. Bleek, obviously, does not want to share the spotlight. Indigo is a thoughtful schoolteacher who is not fragile with Bleek's tremendous ego but is careful with his somewhat callous heart. At work, Bleek is wrestling with a hungry band demanding pay raises given the success they're achieving at the "Beneath The Underdog" club. Clumsily working towards the band's raise is Giant, Bleek's lifelong friend and incompetent manager, who also has a considerable gambling problem. Bleek must decide whether to trust Giant or risk losing his band, while deciding how long he can keep up the game between Indigo and Clarke.

This, simply, is one of my favorite Lee films. Thank God someone finally made a jazz film for the late 20th century, jazz had not received a proper modern makeover since 1961's "Paris Blues." Lee creates a wonderful, intimate world set off by moody lighting in shades of red, yellow and blue. His camera and editing - which was spontaneous and lively in "Do The Right Thing" - is slow and deliberate here, carefully punctuated in all the right places. This film marked the debut of some of Lee's trademark camera moves, including the 'gliding sidewalk' dolly and his slow-spin-upward pans.

Like his previous films, Lee is adept and balancing out scenes between comedy and drama. A lot of the 'band' scenes are engagingly funny, mostly guy talk with a spin of that "cool daddy jazz vibe" added. Lee is also skillful at making Bleek the antagonist of the film without rendering him completely unlikable. The "Love Supreme" montage ending seemed to stretch the film for longer than some would have liked, but I feel it was justified in order to illustrate the beauty and necessity of Bleek's redemption. Lee was also smart to reduce screen time given to the film's true protagonist, saxophonist Shadow Henderson (rendered with cool, suave sophistication by Wesley Snipes), in order to keep the audience focused on Bleek. You will also get a delicious sampling of great jazz in this film if you're a novice to such. Aside from the concert numbers written and performed by Branford Marsalis and the dreamy jazz score by Lee's father, Bill, there are great pieces by John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. A cool, sexy film.

One of Spike Lee's best, "Mo Better Blues" captures the atmosphere of jazz. The soundtrack flows with the acting like a song. Denzel Washington does a great job of portraying a jazzman's quest for perfection, while living in a "real world" full of problems. Being a musician myself, I appreciated the struggle Washington's character was going through. All of Spike Lee's trademark camera angles (which I've disliked in some of his movies) worked to perfection in this movie. Great music, good acting, and a solid plot. Recommend!

This is a very entertaining movie and it is underrated. The characters, story and music are captivating.

However, I think part of the reason for the lower ratings is the the poor camera effects. Lee focuses in on characters at times, as though they are standing and talking to a camera by themselves in some sterile room, such that it actually cheapens the film. There is a real lack of realism to this technique - it reminds me of 1960's style TV shows like Batman. It gives a feel that they ran out of money and when they had to go back and re-shoot the scene, they did so on the cheap. A minority may find this unique or appealing, but no great movie or director will use this technique. The filming with multiple characters in the shot is generally very good. But, the movie could have been better without these flaws.

The writing at times is exceptional. There are great lines, as well as very entertaining dialogue. The scenes between Denzel and Snipes are exude an extraordinary power and they offer an exceptional dynamic to the movie as a whole. The female characters are also very compelling. "Clark" (Cynda Williams) is extraordinarily attractive and the movement of the character through the course of the movie is well done.

It is difficult not to be captivated by this film. The positive cultural dynamic it captures is one that Americans can only hope to be present. Yet, one gets the feeling that reality is closer to the darker elements the movie exposes. Yet, there is ultimately a very positive message of love, responsibility.

One of the best film's Spike Lee has ever created. Denzel Washington plays Bleek Gilliam, a selfish musician who only listens to his music. He cheats on his women and wants the spotlight only to himself. On his road to redemption he encounters betrayal, lies, and greed before he finds happiness. A happiness that comes at a heavy price. Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes give superb performances in their roles. The supporting cast members also give terrific performances in this film. The supporting cast members include Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nunn and Spike Lee. Spike Lee gives these characters enough personality to keep this movie entertaining. Each member adds enough color commentary to the film making this a joyous event from beginning to end. Add this movie to your video collection if you haven't already.

This was a frustrating movie for me because it was at times brilliant, yet there are a few things that could have been done better.

Spike Lee shows why he is revered as a writer director, with beautiful dynamic shots, intercut with smooth jazz. It is a charming presentation. Also the dialogue is interesting and feels natural and spontaneous. The combination of strong writing and acting makes for interesting conversations.

The things I found frustrating was the lack of a focused or interesting story. Also Spike Lee's performance was very weak compared to Denzel's and he should have stayed out of the movie. He actually took a lot of the attention from the other characters and tried to make the movie about himself.