Do The Right Thing Review

Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing focuses on the people and conflicts within a Brooklyn neighborhood on the hottest day of the year. There is a strong sense of community within the neighborhood because everybody knows everybody, but as the day progresses racial tensions seem to rise. Pretty much all of the residents are African American, but the two businesses in the neighborhood are a Korean owned grocery store and an Italian owned pizzeria. Mookie, the pizza delivery boy, seems to be the one that connects the everyone and the local radio DJ provides commentary on everything he sees.

The characters in the film are well developed, but the plot it not. It just seems to be a typical day in the neighborhood until the end of the film when a riot breaks out. The movie makes you want to pick a side, but in the end you are left unsure of which side was right. The fact that there is no resolution is clearly intentional and it surely makes you think about the different tactics used to resolve racial conflicts. However the film just left me angry with everyone and I do not think that a sense of frustration is conducive to anything. The movie definitely succeeds at providing a unique perspective on racial tensions, but due to the thin plot and unresolved ending I do not think that it succeeded at being a good film. It tries so hard to make a statement that it does not really draw me in to what is going on by developing a plot or giving me a reason to want to keep watching.

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