Do the Right Thing

Set in a single block of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the year, Spike Lee’s provocative, astoundingly accomplished third feature boils down the state of race relations in contemporary America and then turns up the heat to show how these combustible tensions can explode under specific, but by no means uncommon, circumstances. Do The Right Thing takes place over a 24-hour period and is populated with an ensemble of vibrant, memorable characters. At the corner of this one city block, and at the center of this narrative, stands Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, an Italian-American business in the midst of a predominantly black and Latino neighborhood. Sal (played by Danny Aiello in an Oscar-nominated performance) is a gruff but sympathetic man trying to make an honest living while dealing with the problems of running a small business in an area where he’s an outsider. Among the things he has to deal with are his constantly bickering sons Pino and Vito (John Turturro and Richard Edson), and his earnest but irresponsible delivery boy Mookie (played by Lee). We get to know the rest of the inhabitants (portrayed by a phenomenal cast) as they come in and out of Sal’s to get slices and as Mookie traverses the block to deliver pies.

With over 30 main characters inhabiting this story, Lee gives us types but not stereotypes. All the roles (even the smallest) feel both representational and lived-in. The picture is highly stylized, with sweeping camera moves, bolder than bold colors, and dialogue that is theatrical without ever feeling inauthentic. Lee even stops the film at times for illustrative montages about the characters, the heat they’re experiencing, the music they listen to, and their angry, prejudiced attitudes towards the other races with which they must coexist. Though a powder keg of passionate emotion, ideology, and politics, Do The Right Thing never comes off as didactic or preachy. All the pointed thematic content is organically expressed by the richly drawn characters—most of whom are quite affable and funny. Lee’s mastery of his chosen medium surprises delights and challenges us. He creates a microcosm full of contradictions, perspectives, and emotions that represent the full human spectrum.

NOTE: This is one of my 100 favorite films. 
A more in-depth appreciation can be found here.

Twitter Capsule:
Spike Lee's masterpiece about race relations in America was the best film of the year, one of the best of the decade, and still every bit as powerful, inspiring, disturbing, truthful, funny, and entertaining as it was 30 years ago.