Other Titles • Summer of Sam (1999) • The Son of Sam (1998)
Synopses for Summer of Sam (1999)
1.
It Was A Time They'd Never Forget.
The dynamic John Leguizamo (Spawn, Executive Decision) is teamed with Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino (At First Sight, The Replacement Killers) in an electrifying, must-see movie that takes you back to New York City's infamous summer of 1977! The heat is soaring to record highs, blackouts are filling the streets with looters…and the murders of a man who calls himself the Son of Sam are gripping the giant city in fear! As friends in a small Italian neighborhood become obsessed with the idea that the Son of Sam is someone nearby, the madman's fearsome plague of terror becomes the catalyst that prompts relationships to fall apart and trust to disintegrate into dread! Also starring Adrien Brody (The Thin Red Line) and Jennifer Esposito (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer), this powerful motion picture tells the gritty and hard-edged story about one nightmare season in the city that never sleeps!
(8 votes)
2.
SUMMER OF SAM, Spike Lee's sizzling interpretation of the summer of 1977 in New York City, when thermometers shattered and a serial killer terrorized the city, focuses on an Italian-American community in the Bronx--specifically, Dionna (Mira Sorvino) and Vinny (John Leguizamo), a couple whose marriage is threatened by Vinny's obsession with other women. After Vinny returns home one night to find a killer has murdered two local women, he promises to mend his cheating ways, albeit unsuccessfully. As the media exploits the murders and a blackout threatens to unleash anarchy on the city, its inhabitants begin to look for a scapegoat who will release them from the reign of terror created by the chilling figure known only as the Son of Sam (Michael Badalucco). Lee’s ambitious film does more than re-create the events that unfolded during the summer of 1977; in addition to being an entertaining time capsule, it also deals graphically with the concept of the mob mentality.
(10 votes)
3.
It's important to note that Spike Lee's drama is not titled Son of Sam. Summer of Sam doesn't chronicle the killer as much as the times: the blistering hot summer of 1977 when the Big Apple's psyche was taken hostage by the lone gunman. We spot the killer (Michael Badalucco) in his mad ramblings but the film centres on two friends from the Bronx: Vinny and Ritchie (John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody). Vinny and his wife, Dionna (Mira Sorvino), bury a bad marriage (he cheats at a drop of a hat) in the disco halls of the area. Ritchie returns to the neighbourhood sporting punk hair, punk clothes and a British accent that immediately infuriates the neighbourhood boys oozing far too much testosterone. Cops, local mob leaders and the guys on the street all have ideas who the killer is: everyone from neighbourhood loners to Reggie Jackson (in the midst of World Series heroism) are on their misguided lists of suspects. When the film looks at how the citizens faced the fearful times, Lee scores with his energetic camerawork and pop soundtrack. Yet the film is banal in its domestic dramatics, taking large detours into Vinny's home sex life (stagnant) and Ritchie's extracurricular activities. One of the marriage arguments--though real and well acted--is so long and cliché-ridden you wonder if someone fell asleep in the editing booth. Add the point-blank killings and non-stop vulgarity and you have Lee's most unpleasant film. --Doug Thomas
(6 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
