In the nineties, Spike Lee switched his game up, going from being "the black Woody Allen", to really exploring his own personal style. Between Clockers and He Got Game, he began exploring some of the same territory as Martin Scorsese, creating these gritty, urban films with a real sense of danger and focused on issues of family. He Got Game is one of Lee's all time must download movies.
The film follows Jesus, pronounced just like Jesus as in Jesus Christ... It's a Biblical name. He's a basketball prodigy being hunted relentlessly by all the top athletic schools. His scholarship is obviously covered, of course, and now it's just a matter of deciding which school to attend, and these guys are incredibly aggressive in how they try to scout him out.
His father is played by Denzel Washington, serving a stint in prison for involuntary manslaughter. During a domestic altercation some years ago, he accidentally killed Jesus' mother, shoving her. She slipped and broke her neck. Jesus has never forgiven him for this, although his little sister has. These family issues come up again throughout the film.
The warden of the prison offers the father a deal: Get Jesus to attend the warden's alma mater, and they'll look at reducing the sentence.
Of course, this isn't really the point for the father. A reduced sentence is a nice bonus, but he really wants to take the opportunity to find the son's forgiveness, to be close to him and to love him and be loved by him. The way these two plot threads tie together is really incredible, in that what school Jesus chooses has to be right for him.
The father has other issues to deal with, such as a prostitute he falls in love with, while the son already has enough on his mind as the talent scouts put him through an endless parade of cash bribes, drugs and sex with gorgeous women in attempts to get him to join up. Through it all, Jesus has to maintain his righteousness, he has to stay strong and make the right decision for himself and for his little sister, who he's cared for all these years. He enjoys these offerings, but tries to resist temptation.
The way the film ends is surreal and fitting, and shows a fascinating step for Spike Lee. It is also quite touching. The film ends in a way that is not entirely satisfying except on an emotional level, which is, of course, where it really counts.
The film has some shocking moments, but more importantly, it has some moments of real truth and honesty, and some fearless performances by all of the primary cast members. Since 2000 or so, Spike Lee has turned his attention towards more marketable, polished films. These are all good movies, but with films like He Got Game, Lee really carved out a niche for himself and created some true classics of the American cinema.
The film follows Jesus, pronounced just like Jesus as in Jesus Christ... It's a Biblical name. He's a basketball prodigy being hunted relentlessly by all the top athletic schools. His scholarship is obviously covered, of course, and now it's just a matter of deciding which school to attend, and these guys are incredibly aggressive in how they try to scout him out.
His father is played by Denzel Washington, serving a stint in prison for involuntary manslaughter. During a domestic altercation some years ago, he accidentally killed Jesus' mother, shoving her. She slipped and broke her neck. Jesus has never forgiven him for this, although his little sister has. These family issues come up again throughout the film.
The warden of the prison offers the father a deal: Get Jesus to attend the warden's alma mater, and they'll look at reducing the sentence.
Of course, this isn't really the point for the father. A reduced sentence is a nice bonus, but he really wants to take the opportunity to find the son's forgiveness, to be close to him and to love him and be loved by him. The way these two plot threads tie together is really incredible, in that what school Jesus chooses has to be right for him.
The father has other issues to deal with, such as a prostitute he falls in love with, while the son already has enough on his mind as the talent scouts put him through an endless parade of cash bribes, drugs and sex with gorgeous women in attempts to get him to join up. Through it all, Jesus has to maintain his righteousness, he has to stay strong and make the right decision for himself and for his little sister, who he's cared for all these years. He enjoys these offerings, but tries to resist temptation.
The way the film ends is surreal and fitting, and shows a fascinating step for Spike Lee. It is also quite touching. The film ends in a way that is not entirely satisfying except on an emotional level, which is, of course, where it really counts.
The film has some shocking moments, but more importantly, it has some moments of real truth and honesty, and some fearless performances by all of the primary cast members. Since 2000 or so, Spike Lee has turned his attention towards more marketable, polished films. These are all good movies, but with films like He Got Game, Lee really carved out a niche for himself and created some true classics of the American cinema.
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