Cast: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Anthony LaPaglia, Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Ben Gazzara, Joe Lisi, Michael Badalucco
Director: Spike Lee
Producers: Jon Kilik, Spike Lee
Screenplay: Victor Colicchio, Michael Imperioli, Spike Lee
Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Music: Terence Blanchard
U.S. Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Of all the serial killers to surface during the '60s and '70s, perhaps none created a bigger sensation than the "Son of Sam." The number of victims attributed to David Berkowitz - 6 dead and 6 more injured - are fewer than those of John Wayne Gacy, The Boston Strangler, The Zodiac Killer, or Ted Bundy. Nevertheless, over a four-month period during which the media spotlight was blinding, this one unassuming man managed to paralyze New York City with terror.
Berkowitz first struck on July 29, 1976, shooting Donna Lauria in the head while she and a friend were parked along the side of a street in the Bronx. It wasn't until his fourth attack and second killing, in January 1977, that the police began to suspect the hand of a serial killer. Then, after the March 8 murder of Virginia Voskerichian (shot in the face while holding a text book in front of her as an ineffectual shield), a press conference was called to announce that a psycho was on the loose. The media was galvanized by news of the ".44 Caliber Killer." Three months later, he was re-dubbed the "Son of Sam." Berkowitz's last victim was Stacy Moskowitz, whom he killed on July 31, 1977. Ten days after that, he was captured. After pleading guilty at his subsequent trial, he was sentenced to several hundred years in prison without the possibility of parole. Although he at first maintained that he had been led to kill by demonic forces, Berkowitz recanted this story in 1979, confessing that his motivation had been a perverse sexual pleasure.
Spike Lee's Summer of Sam is only tangentially about Berkowitz; as a character, his role is minor. Actually, the movie is an exploration of '70s culture and how the paranoia fueled by the killing spree illuminated the worst aspects of human nature. Like Boogie Nights, this picture delves beneath the facade of glitz and glamour that was the disco era and uncovers a rotten, hollow shell. It is a dark, violent, sexually explicit motion picture that will surely offend timid viewers. (Until Lee made cuts, the MPAA had slapped it with an NC-17.)
Summer of Sam focuses on a small group of Italian-American characters living in the Bronx. They aren't necessarily the most compelling individuals - Lee relies on a few too many clichés to develop them (especially those with supporting parts) - but they get the job done. There's Vinny (John Leguizamo), the slick, Travolta-like disco king who is married to the lovely Dionna (Mira Sorvino), but is constantly unfaithful. Ritchie (Adrien Brody) is Vinny's closest friend, but his punk hairdo and standoffish attitude have made him persona non grata in the old neighborhood. It doesn't help that he's dating Ruby (Jennifer Esposito), the local slut, or that he's leading a secret, double life. Other players include Luigi (Ben Gazarra), the local Mafioso; Gloria (Bebe Neuwirth), Vinny's oversexed boss at the hair salon where he works; Detective Lou Petrocelli (Anthony LaPaglia), a cop investigating the Son of Sam killings; and Berkowitz himself (Michael Badalucco).
The movie begins and ends with a few brief narrative comments by New York Post columnist Jimmy Breslin. Soon, we're in Vinny's world, watching him light up the dance floor with Dionna on an April night. On the way home, the pair comes across a murder scene. When Vinny gets out of the car to investigate why the cops have cordoned off the area, he encounters the bodies of Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau in the car where they were shot. They are the fourth and fifth murder victims of the ".44 Caliber Killer." Shaken, Vinny goes home, vowing to turn his life around and remain faithful to Dionna. Not surprisingly, he is unable to keep the oath.
Over the next several months, tensions run high in Vinny's neighborhood. Luigi believes that the police will be unable to prevent more murders, so he puts the word out on the streets for his boys to be on the lookout. This fosters an atmosphere in which vigilante justice takes root. As the summer heat builds and the fear escalates, New York becomes a dangerous place. After dark, people stay off the streets and out of the discos, and a July blackout results in chaos. And, for outsiders like Ritchie, who are viewed with suspicion by their neighbors, one wrong move can make them a suspect and a target for mob violence.
Perhaps the strongest characteristic of Summer of Sam is its atmosphere. Lee does a superb job not only of re-creating the '70s (something many directors have done with varying success over the past few years), but of building the sense of growing paranoia that gripped New York during June and July of 1977. Like all '70s movies, disco music is an important part of the soundtrack, but Lee has a purpose here beyond selling CDs - he uses certain songs in a way that is almost subversive. Abba's "Dancing Queen," for example, provides the music for a heated shouting match between Vinny and Dionna when the two air out their dirty laundry. The use of the pop tune in the background makes the quarrel seem almost surreal. There's another scene where Phil Rizzuto's voice doing Yankees play-by-play is used while Berkowitz stalks a victim. 1977 was the year the Yankees won the World Series, and, to the denizens of the Bronx, their play is a close second to the Son of Sam's activities.
The film's weaknesses relate primarily to character development. Beyond the main trio of Vinny, Ritchie, and Dionna, everyone else is a stereotype - the mob boss, the hard-bitten detective, the whore with the heart of gold, etc. Even Vinny and Dionna aren't always interesting. They're unique people, but they follow familiar patterns. She's the long-suffering wife who believes he strays because she doesn't turn him on. And he refuses to accept responsibility for his actions, preferring to blame them on some external force. Limitations in characterization are at least partially overcome by strong acting. John Leguizamo is wonderful as Vinny, giving the kind of eye-opening performance that Mark Wahlberg contributed to Boogie Nights. Mira Sorvino manages to convey vulnerability and toughness as Dionna. Together, she and Leguizamo provide two intense scenes of conflict (the "Dancing Queen" incident and one shortly thereafter). Not to be overshadowed, Adrien Brody gives a strong portrayal as an innocent man who is betrayed and hunted because he is different from the people he grew up with.
Another flaw in the film is its presentation of Berkowitz. Lee attempts to take us into the killer's murky mindset by using filters and distorted camera shots when the Son of Sam is on screen. It really doesn't work; instead, it has the effect of transforming Berkowitz into a caricature. One could argue the case that the film would have worked better if the Son of Sam had been left as a presence rather than made into an actual character. Certainly, cutting out Berkowitz's scenes would have reduced the running time, which, at 2 hours, 22 minutes, seems protracted.
Much has been made of the fact that this is Lee's first directorial outing where most of the cast is white. Those searching for some hidden racial agenda will not find it here, although there is a scene in which a black women comments that she's glad the Son of Sam is a white man killing other whites; if he were black, it would cause a race riot. (It's a legitimate point, and is not out of place in the context in which it is presented.) Those unaware of the director's identity won't be able to guess based on the film's content (unless they recognize Lee, who has a small part as a newsman covering the killings).
Although Summer of Sam prevails as a period piece, it works even better as an examination of how the need to assign blame can result in grave injustices. While this is Spike Lee's most ambitious motion picture to date, it's not his angriest. Nevertheless, there's an edginess to the proceedings that makes watching the film an unsettling experience. Summer of Sam opens a window on the '70s that juxtaposes light pop cultural references with something dark and monstrous. The result, while not wholly successful, is compelling and disturbing.
© 1999 James Berardinelli