25th Hour

25th Hour

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2002
Founder	Spike Lee (director), David Benioff (screenplay), Tobey Maguire (producer)
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Products	Drama film

25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and featuring Edward Norton in the lead role. The screenplay, adapted by David Benioff from his 2001 debut novel The 25th Hour, centers on a man’s final day of liberty before commencing a seven-year prison term for drug trafficking.

Critics responded favorably to the movie, particularly commending its depiction of New York City in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In 2016, it was placed 26th on the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century list.

Plot

Monty Brogan is sentenced to seven years in prison for drug dealing. During his last day of freedom, he roams through New York City accompanied by Doyle, a dog he rescued years ago, and revisits his former high school. He intends to reconnect with childhood friends: Frank Slaughtery, who works as a Wall Street trader; Jacob Elinsky, a high school educator; and Naturelle Riviera, his live-in partner.

Monty’s arrest occurred after DEA agents raided his apartment and confiscated drugs linked to the Russian mobster known as Uncle Nikolai. Doubts arise that Naturelle may have betrayed him. Monty visits his father James, a former firefighter and recovering alcoholic who operates a bar financed by Monty’s drug earnings. Internally, Monty vents his frustrations at various targets before ultimately blaming himself for not quitting earlier.

Frank and Jacob meet at a vantage point overlooking ground zero; Frank expresses his belief that Monty’s life after prison will be over. Police interrogate Monty, pressuring him to inform on Nikolai by threatening harsh incarceration conditions, but Monty declines. He asks Frank to verify whether Naturelle was the informant.

At a nightclub, Jacob meets Mary, one of his students whom he admires, while Monty confides in Frank about his anxieties regarding prison. Frank accuses Naturelle of betrayal; she reacts by slapping him and leaving. Monty confronts Nikolai, who reveals that Kostya, Monty’s friend, was the actual informant and offers Monty an opportunity to kill Kostya in exchange for protecting his father. Monty refuses and departs; subsequently, Kostya is murdered by mobsters.

Monty reconciles with Naturelle and entrusts Doyle to Jacob’s care. Overcome by fear of sexual assault in prison, he asks Frank to beat him up so he will seem tougher; Frank reluctantly agrees. As Monty’s father drives him to prison, Monty imagines an alternate reality where they avoid incarceration and he starts anew with Naturelle. This vision ends as they cross the George Washington Bridge en route to prison.

Development

David Benioff wrote The 25th Hour during his time at the University of California Irvine. Despite initial rejections, the novel was published in 2001. Approximately six months prior to publication, an early trade copy caught the attention of actor-producer Tobey Maguire, who secured the rights and invited Benioff to adapt it into a screenplay. Maguire later withdrew from acting in the film due to commitments with the Spider-Man project but remained involved as a producer. Director Spike Lee showed enthusiasm for directing the adaptation.

Lee insisted on retaining Benioff’s extended "fuck monologue," a pivotal scene where Monty delivers a tirade about New York’s five boroughs, despite initial requests from Disney to remove it.

The film was being developed during the time of the September 11 attacks, which Lee chose to incorporate into the narrative rather than exclude. This choice adds an additional layer of grief and uncertainty throughout the story.

Reception

25th Hour boasts an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from a total of 176 critiques, with an average score of 7.22/10. The consensus highlights it as "a thoughtful and well-performed movie despite the typical Spike Lee stylistic flourishes." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 69 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, reflecting "generally positive feedback." Viewers polled by CinemaScore assigned it a B− grade.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, five years later, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle recognized 25th Hour as the singular outstanding cinematic work confronting the tragedy, comparing its significance to that of Rossellini’s Open City as an urban historical record. Renowned critic Roger Ebert included the film in his "Great Movies" collection in 2009. Other notable critics such as A. O. Scott and Richard Roeper, alongside Ebert, ranked it among the finest films of the 2000s decade.

In a 2016 survey conducted by the BBC involving 177 international critics, 25th Hour was placed 26th among the greatest films released since 2000. By July 2025, it had climbed to number 24 on Rolling Stone’s "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century" list.

The monologue delivered by Monty has become a frequently referenced segment in compilations of top cinematic rants, highlighting its enduring cultural resonance within film dialogue.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Terence Blanchard. Additional tracks featured throughout the film include:

1. Big Daddy Kane – "Warm It Up, Kane"
2. Craig Mack – "Flava in Ya Ear"
3. The Olympic Runners – "Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is"
4. Grandmaster Melle Mel – "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)"
5. Liquid Liquid – "Cavern"
6. Cymande – "Bra"
7. Cymande – "Dove"
8. Cymande – "The Message"
9. Bruce Springsteen – "The Fuse"

In popular culture

The first season episode "Bingo" of Better Call Saul makes a nod to both the film and its original novel. In the episode, Jimmy suggests Kim imagine 25th Hour, featuring Ned and Maude Flanders, while explaining that the Kettlemans—one facing incarceration—have engaged him to replace her as their lawyer.

See also

• List of cultural references to the September 11 attacks
• List of hood films