Strike(Mekhi Phifer) is a "clocker" or 24-hour drug dealer. Strike, along with five other clockers: Scientific(Sticky Fingaz), Go(Fredro Starr), Horace(E.O. Nolasco), Stan(Lawrence B. Adisa), and Skills(Hassan Johnson) all work the benches inside the housing projects in New York City. They are constantly being harassed by the police who often come and search them for any drugs they may have in their possession. Strike who is getting tired and stressed out from working the benches, asks his boss Rodney(Delroy Lindo) to see if he can move up to a better position in the New York drug trade. Rodney tells Strike the only way to do it is if he kills another clocker named Darryl Adams(Steve White) who works as the night manager at Ahab's Burger, a local restaurant. So one night, Strike patiently waits for Darryl to come out from the Ahab's, but Strike decides to into a local bar. Sometime later, Darryl is found dead, the victim of an apparent street crime. This introduces us to NYPD Homicide Detectives Rocco Klein(Harvey Keitel) and Larry Mazilli(John Turturro). When they arrive at the crime scene, they find the officers joking around as they search Darryl's bloody corspe for any evidence. The police soon after gather enough evidence to pin the perpetrator of the crime on Strike. Before they can arrest him though, Strike's decent and hard-working brother, Victor(Isaiah Washington) turns himself into the police as the murderer. Rocco doesn't believe Victor's story since he doesn't believe Victor had any real reason to murder Darryl. But he does believe however, that since Strike went bad and did have a motive to kill Darryl and Victor remained a good person, that Strike is the real murderer, but can he prove it?
This is in fact Spike Lee's most underrated film, even more underrated than his epic Malcolm X. Clockers offers an inside look into the world of black on black crime. What's even more disturbing about Clockers is that it opens up playing Marc Dorsey's song "People In Search Of A Life" while showing us bloody crime scene photos. I heard that Spike Lee said he did this for "the maximum effect". I guess that means he wanted show us the true nature of street crime and the effect it has on the community where they happen.
Mekhi Phifer makes an impressive film debut as Strike, the lead clocker. He isn't necessarily a bad person nor is he a good person either. His influence on Tyrone Jeeter(Pee Wee Love) a young boy whom Strike takes under his wing, is frightening, as well as it is disturbing. Tyrone begins the same sort of transformation that Strike went through after Rodney got a hold of him. As Strike tells Tyrone about Errol Barnes, "Oh, don't think that just cuz your a kid and all, that he won't smoke you. Why just last year I heard he caught himself a 10-year old." A striking moment in the movie that shows street crime can happen to anyone, even kids.
Keith David gives a terrific, yet under-used performance as Andre The Giant, a local housing police officer who tries unsuccessfully to keep Tyrone from becoming like Strike.
I think one of the most over-looked performance here however is Thomas Jefferson Byrd who plays Errol Barnes, a middle-aged man who is dying of AIDS. He is Rodney's right-hand man and is also a known child murderer. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Spike Lee also creates a sort of ironic twist-of-fate for Errol towards the end of the movie.
Clockers is a very disturbing film that should have gotten more attention from critics as well as the movie public.
I loved this movie and I never get tired of watching it.
Clockers gets a 10/10
This is in fact Spike Lee's most underrated film, even more underrated than his epic Malcolm X. Clockers offers an inside look into the world of black on black crime. What's even more disturbing about Clockers is that it opens up playing Marc Dorsey's song "People In Search Of A Life" while showing us bloody crime scene photos. I heard that Spike Lee said he did this for "the maximum effect". I guess that means he wanted show us the true nature of street crime and the effect it has on the community where they happen.
Mekhi Phifer makes an impressive film debut as Strike, the lead clocker. He isn't necessarily a bad person nor is he a good person either. His influence on Tyrone Jeeter(Pee Wee Love) a young boy whom Strike takes under his wing, is frightening, as well as it is disturbing. Tyrone begins the same sort of transformation that Strike went through after Rodney got a hold of him. As Strike tells Tyrone about Errol Barnes, "Oh, don't think that just cuz your a kid and all, that he won't smoke you. Why just last year I heard he caught himself a 10-year old." A striking moment in the movie that shows street crime can happen to anyone, even kids.
Keith David gives a terrific, yet under-used performance as Andre The Giant, a local housing police officer who tries unsuccessfully to keep Tyrone from becoming like Strike.
I think one of the most over-looked performance here however is Thomas Jefferson Byrd who plays Errol Barnes, a middle-aged man who is dying of AIDS. He is Rodney's right-hand man and is also a known child murderer. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Spike Lee also creates a sort of ironic twist-of-fate for Errol towards the end of the movie.
Clockers is a very disturbing film that should have gotten more attention from critics as well as the movie public.
I loved this movie and I never get tired of watching it.
Clockers gets a 10/10