Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Da 5 Bloods 

This is a film that hit me with a powerful punch to the chest! Spike Lee has knocked it out of the park once again bringing truly one of his best films he’s ever brought to the big screen. The film is powerfully acted by the entire cast involved all giving tremendous emotionally moving performances. The film also is incredibly heavy in its execution of the subject matter but never felt to preachy or to much. Now I am aware Spike Lee has never been subtle when he discusses these heavy topics he’s very up front about it and here he presents those heavy handed topics in some of the most emotionally raw ways I’ve ever seen put to film. The film is definitely one of the best of the year and showcases some of the most emotionally powerful performances I’ve ever witnessed Spike Lee is at the top of his game and once again shows people why he’s one of the all time great filmmakers. 

Firstly, Spike Lee has brought a film that left me speechless and brought me to tears multiple times. The film is raw and that’s the word I use to describe it perfectly because the film dose not feel glamorized or over dramatic or even stylish. The film feels authentic because the way he tells the story of these war veterans who come back to the place that still haunts them was shown in such a realistic way. The films scope  is big but the tone is intimate  and really focuses on these guys and shows all of them individually of how they’ve dealt with the trauma they struggle with everyday and how they go about coping with it. I love that aspect as it really fleshed out the characters and gave us the time to really get to know each one of them and invest in them emotionally which was fantastically done. The film has violence in it but the way it’s shown onscreen is disturbing and I use that word very heavily as their are some images in this film that are more unsettling then any horror film I’ve ever watched. Because theirs a ton of times the film uses stock footage actual footage and images from the 70’s and 60’s and it’s unsettling to see as well is the violence in the film as the violence is done in a way that doesn’t show off it in a glamorous way it’s shown in brutal truth. As when you see acts of violence through the course of the film it’s done in such a shocking and bone chilling way you feel a knot in your stomach just from witnessing it onscreen as it’s depiction of violence isn’t to make you want to feel sick to your stomach but to show the audience the truth of what war and trauma looks like and how these events unfolded and sometimes in very disturbing ways so I respect the honesty spike brings to the film without sugar coating it even at its darkest moments. 

Secondly, The performances from everyone involved is phenomenal! Clarke Peters, Norman Lewis and Isiah Whitlock Jr all give incredible work in this film showing truly vulnerable and emotionally raw performances that impact you deeply. But the performance for me that stood out among the rest was the career best performance by Delroy Lindo who delivers a performance that is truly one of the best I’ve ever seen! Now I’ve seen some truly great performances this year by Delory Lindo haunting, raw and emotionally bare in this film as he shows such depths and layers to him that blew me away. Another stand out performance for me was from Clarke Peters who gives a tender but very intimate performance that was so effective in his subtlety. Everyone really stepped up to the plate and gave these really powerful performances that didn’t feel scripted and felt authentic as it was so real onscreen it didn’t feel like it was acting at all that’s how good each performance was. At times I felt I was watching a documentary because of how natural the acting was along with the chemistry among the cast as everyone delivered committed raw powerhouse performances that gripped me from every single frame of this film. 

Lastly, Da 5 Bloods is an outstanding film which tackles topics in a very raw and real way. The only other time a war film has depicted war so brutally honest was The Deer Hunter. Now Spike Lee like I said brings similar tones he’s discussed to the front of this film but it’s in his angle of it and how he told those topics that were so greatly executed throughout the film that gripped me from start to the end. It’s a devastating film that shows the repercussions of what War can do to people and what revisiting those places can do and the haunting ghosts that never leave and it’s bone chilling,  powerfully acted as well as showcased by a truly standout performance by Delroy Lindo who gives the best performance of his career. Spike Lee has crafted another film that speaks on the times we’re living in and the sheer importance of equality, PTSD and the importance of brotherhood Da 5 Bloods is a true masterpiece that is one of the best films I’ve seen this year. I recommend everyone go check this film out. 

This film centres on 4 men who fought in the Vietnam war and when they go back to revisit the place they once battled in to locate some gold they hid years ago and to find the remains of one of their fallen soldiers they all try to grapple with the Demons that’s haunted them since Vietnam 

Rated R : for strong violence, grisly images, and pervasive language

Delroy Lindo : Lindo gives one of the most powerfully emotionally raw performances I’ve ever witnessed! Delroy plays Paul the member of the group who’s had the toughest time readjusting to normal life since his time in the war. He finds his inner demons every moment of the day and is in constant emotional pain and Lindo brings a brutal emotional rawness to his performance that shook me to the core. As when you see him in the film you can see from his body language or just from the sheer pain in his eyes theirs a pain that’s never been healed or nurtured and he constantly can fly off the Handel in any given moment as he can be calm and collected and then explode in a rage of emotion the next. That unpredictability he brings as well to the performance is incredible as we see so munch depth and layers to this damaged man he’s playing onscreen. When he’s acting theirs a truly another layer of realism and I’m not saying that to sound dramatic he really has a truth to the words he says as theirs such a heavy impact to when he says them theirs many scenes in the film I can point out where he does that In spades but one in particular I’ll mention when he’s in the Forrest going absolutely mad and he talks straight to the camera in sheer captivating rawness. We really see him evolve over the course of the film as he is trying to keep himself together even though it’s tough he’s trying but as the film progresses we see him become more and more worse emotionally to himself and to others and that decline he makes is done in such a disturbingly real way that Lindo shows powerfully through every frame he’s in. You’ll hear his voice rattle his eyes scolding red from holding tears back and then his body jitter in trauma and it’s so real and so raw and if Lindo dose not get an Oscar nomination for his truly genius work in this film I’ll be so upset. As not only is it a tour de force performance but a performance that is one of the most honest looks at trauma I’ve seen in a performance ever put onscreen and Lindo brings this role to life through a raw committed emotionally charged performance that will leave you in tears and also amazed by his incredible work he’s bringing to the screen Delory Lindo is outstanding in this film giving one of the best performances Of the year! 

Clark Peters : Peters delivers a tender and emotionally gripping performance! Peters plays the person in the group who’s really in many ways the leader and voice of caution of them all. He shows his vulnerability in quiet ways which I thought was genius. Peter’s performance in this film to put in into one word is subtle and I say that not to try to downplay his genius in this film but to express the quality he brought to it that I thought was greatly done. He is very subtle in his emotional expression in this film it’s not a restrained performance I would say but is pulled back to an extent for sure. As the most emotion we see from him is when he visits a lover of his and I won’t give to much away but you see him just crumble and fall apart in the quietest way possible of him trying to hold tears back but then when he’s with the boys he has this shield he puts up. Now he shows devastating emotion through his eyes but not much through his voice for a lot of it as he’s the glue who tries to keep the group from fighting and even though he may look fine on the outside on the inside he’s battling such dark emotional demons and the way Peters brings that through his performance is brilliant. As the way he speaks his lines to the way he moves he fully inhabits his character and you can tell he means what he says and he is committed to each single frame he’s in and you get really swept up in his performance as his work in this film is raw and honest just like Lindo and shouldn’t be overlooked. As I would go as far as saying Lindo gives the best performance of the film but Peters’s character ends up being the person you cling onto the most and Clark brings a softness to him that is heartbreaking at times and reassuring the next he knows exactly when to express which layer of himself at exactly the right time. He blew me away with a terrific supporting turn in this film that was phenomenal to witness onscreen. 

Spike Lee : Spike has crafted one of the finest films he has ever brought to the screen! Spike has tackled heavy handed topics in half if not all of his films he’s ever done. That being said I haven’t seen him tackle the repercussions of post traumatic stress disorder on film before though and the way he goes about presenting it is brutally honest and real. As the film at times didn’t feel like a film at all it felt more like a documentary as the way he captured the emotional stress and pure pain of these guys felt so authentic and not at all felt scripted or acted but felt truly real. The choice he made to even change the aspect ratios for the flashbacks and when we see stock footage was fantastic and then to change it back for the modern scenes was genius that’s the way you change aspect ratios and make it work for your story. The film felt very cinematic in the way I mean that is the scope is big as I said but the story itself is intimate and really spends a ton of time fleshing out these characters and getting to know how each single one has tried to cope with their trauma and it’s a great character study about PTSD that he’s captured onscreen. A lot of films capture the ugliness of war but few have shown the aftermath of what war does to people in a real and honest way like the Deer Hunter did. This would be right next to the Deer Hunter for great depictions of PTSD and the aftermath of what it does to people as Spike never says away from the really dark moments he charges it head on and really is trying to show people how messed up the Vietnam war was. For some his approach can seem preachy but that’s what he’s known for is being in your face about these subjects in a upfront way that makes you look at these topics from other points of view. He gets great performances out of his cast especially Delory Lindo who gives a truly remarkable performance and the sheer tension he creates in every scene while also showing such heart shattering emotion was so well executed. Not only is this one of Spike’s best films I think it’s next to BlacKkKlansman as his second best directed film he’s ever done as I’ve never been so rattled like this over a war drama in a very long time. It’s because Spike doesn’t hold back and shows the brutality and devastation of the situation up close and wow is it powerful the way he presents that story onscreen. Spike once again has given us a masterful film with his extraordinary direction that is truly incredible.