There are only a small handful of filmmakers who are revered enough that every new film feels like a genuine cinematic event. Whether this is a result of their tendency to only work periodically, taking long breaks in between films, or simply because the quality of their work is impeccable enough to radicalise audiences to always anticipate their next project, it’s clear that some directors occupy rarefied air in contemporary culture. In the case of Spike Lee, we find someone who not only tends to be quite selective about the projects he does, but has recently undergone a critical reassessment that has allowed him to transition to almost folkloric status, which comes after roughly a decade he spent being the target of criticism and disdain as a result of the films he made in the early 21st century, the criticism being that he had lost the spark that defined him as a wunderkind earlier in his career. Mercifully, he’s now appreciated as one of the great voices of his generation, to the point where he’s widely adored and has essentially been handed a blank cheque to make whatever project he views as being worth his time. His most recent offering (which comes half a decade since his last film Da 5 Bloods, which will very likely be viewed as one of his many masterpieces after some time has elapsed) is Highest 2 Lowest, an adaptation of the novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain, which is more famously known as being the foundation for Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, which is the overall inspiration for this film. The story is set in Brooklyn in the present day, and follows David King, a music mogul considered to have the best ears in the business, a kingmaker who is adored and respected by the entire industry. However, after his family is the victim of a kidnapping, King is put in a precarious position, especially when it turns out that there is much more to the story than he initially imagined, and he finds himself having to make quite a difficult decision that will change the trajectory of not only his professional life, but his domestic one too. A fascinating attempt at remaking one of the greatest films of its generation, helmed by a director whose ambition is more than enough to compensate for some peculiar decisions, Highest 2 Lowest is quite an achievement, especially in how it reminds us of the effortless talents that Lee has been showcasing for nearly forty years.

The idea of shifting the narrative not only in terms of geography (moving from the fictional city of Isola in McBain’s novel, and Tokyo in Kurosawa’s film, to New York City) but also focusing on a different industry seems entirely natural. The music business is one that Lee has covered in the past, whether as the focus of certain films or merely as contextual background in others. He’s very much a child of the industry (his father being Bill Lee, one of the great composers to emerge out of the city), and his intimate knowledge of several big players, whether major producers or world-renowned artists, makes this a logical choice. However, Highest 2 Lowest has a purpose, beyond just being a glamorous depiction of arguably one of the biggest sectors of entertainment, becoming a fascinating deconstruction of the business, providing intricate insights into the way the industry is run, both from a professional level and in terms of the interpersonal relationships that emerge when one individual is handed enough power to essentially change the entire trajectory of the lives of others, causing him to learn the importance of acknowledging such an intimidating responsibility. Choosing to focus the film on a music producer (rather than an artist) allows for some intriguing insights, which is something that Lee fixates on in terms of both the main storyline and the smaller, more intricate details that exist throughout the film. These are people who often reside in the shadows, being viewed as the only way someone can make it into the industry, and in choosing to follow someone whose legacy far outweighs his actual wealth in terms of his influence, Lee can examine the dynamics between executives and the people who surround them. This is only part of the story, but nonetheless the core of the narrative – David King is someone who sees himself as both the consummate professional and the very epitome of a family man, while still attempting to keep both sides entirely separate. The collision between the two as a result of the kidnapping that serves as the central tension – and the ensuing moral crisis that emerges when it turns out that a grave mistake has been made – offers fertile ground for the director to examine morality and whether one can truly “do the right thing” (to quote his masterpiece) when faced with a difficult decision. It’s a deeply human film, and one that does tend to get overlooked when we choose to fixate on the over-the-top filmmaking more than the quieter and more intimate moments, which are just as important in defining this film and making it so extraordinarily complex.

Highest 2 Lowest may not be as personal as some of his other films that set out to explore the fabric of New York City, but its nonetheless meaningful, especially in how there is a potential reading of the film that situates it as slightly autobiographical – David King can be considered something of a self-insert for Lee, celebrated and showered with awards in his youth, but who has undergone career challenges that have shifted the public’s perspective of him, and despite being remarkably famous, he is still very much enamoured with his origins, never forgetting from where he came. The character was developed for Denzel Washington, who reunites with Lee for the first time in nearly twenty years, with their last collaboration being the oddly similarly-themed Inside Man, a masterful subversion of the bank heist drama that many credit for being the moment Washington firmly established himself as the elder statesman of cinema, and someone who was always worth watching, even in a relatively simple film. There’s something about the work Washington and Lee do together that feels so incredibly compelling, with the director evoking something in this celebrated actor that very few other filmmakers have been able to harness. There’s a playfulness that emerges, almost as if Washington is more at ease under Lee’s direction than any other filmmaker – we can credit this to Malcolm X not only being widely considered his greatest performance, but also when he fully transitioned into a leading man, no longer having any ambiguity around where he stood in the industry. Highest 2 Lowest obviously does not reach those heights, but it also never attempts to do so – everyone is aware that what they are doing is much broader and leans towards the mainstream, and rather than being an opportunity for Washington to showcase his incredible dramatic skills, it builds itself around his star persona – his ability to use his paternal nature as a source of both comfort and intimidation, coupled with a youthfulness that we actually haven’t seen from him in quite some time, which seems to be entirely by design. If there was any doubt that Washington is quite simply the greatest living movie star, it is immediately extinguished with this film, which serves as a bold reminder of not only his skills but also his ability to command the screen in a way that not even his most celebrated peers have been able to match.

However, there is so much to to Highest 2 Lowest than just what we see on the surface – Lee is far too interesting a filmmaker to just focus on a couple of subjects, even when they do tend to occupy most of the story. This film is as much about the music industry and the people who exist within it as it is a love letter to New York City. The director returns to his native Brooklyn for the first time in over a decade, with his previous work being set elsewhere (Chi-Raq was in Chicago, BlacKkKlansman in Colorado and Da 5 Bloods in Vietnam), even when it was clear where his heart truly resided. The moment we realise that this film is a tribute to the director’s hometown is when we start to see just how incredibly moving it is in practice. Anyone can make a tense thriller about a kidnapping (and Lee himself even touched on similar topics in Inside Man, which was clearly something of a prototype for this film, even if the differences are quite vast in practice), but very few could do it in such a way that it becomes a wholeheartedly moving tribute to the entire city. The kidnapping plot actually turns out to be oddly irrelevant, or at least not the primary focus, when it comes to seeing the incredible appeal of this film. What is instead more notable is how Lee spends over two hours weaving and intricate portrait of New York City, with particular focus on Brooklyn, which is not always given as much exposure as Manhattan, despite its wealth of cultures and vibrant energy with which anyone who has been to the city (and particularly the neighbourhoods represented in this film) will undoubtedly be familiar. It’s very heightened and sensationalised, but we’d not expect anything less from Lee, who has always filtered his love for the city into these extravagant, bombastic explosions of colours and sounds that make up an unforgettable sensory experience, showing us New York City through the eyes of one of its most prodigious, celebrated children who has not allowed fame or acclaim to get in the way of remembering his roots.  Highest 2 Lowest is part of Lee’s ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) project in which he explores one of the world’s most famous cities, doing so in exceptional detail and never wavering in using this as an opportunity to highlight the many reasons it is so easy to fall in love with New York City, a place comprised of millions of bespoke stories from multiple varied cultures, a couple of which we are privileged to have access to in this wonderful film.

After a director has been working for a couple of decades, their style becomes so recognisable, and there are always certain expectations that we have (with the exception of those whose entire raison d’être is to be entirely versatile, which is another matter entirely) when venturing into their work. Lee is someone who has never felt the need to lean towards subtlety – he’s capable of doing it (as his brief forays into more serious, sombre filmmaking has shown), but he is far more comfortable playing to the rafters and skirting along the edges of excess. His style is distinctive and always enthralling, and Highest 2 Lowest is a perfect example of just how incredible it can be to witness his vision in motion. This is not a film to be taken entirely seriously – it’s not a comedy, but it’s also not attempting to pass itself off as some intensely complex drama about social issues and cultural collapse. It’s maximalism in an era where such an approach can be reviled, despite it always being worth watching, especially when handled by a master like Lee, who has never wavered in his commitment to giving the audience something worth watching. The best way to describe Highest 2 Lowest would be as a film that is guided less by words and more by atmosphere – the music and images create a distinct rhythm from which the story can be built, which is often how the director approaches his films, viewing them as multimedia projects more than just occupying a singular medium, which is precisely why it is so incredibly easy to fall victim to its unconventional charms. We’re taken on a journey, and Lee knows exactly how to play on every one of our emotions, allowing us to become witnesses to the trials and tribulations of these characters, all the while watching from a distance as they navigate particular challenges and emerge triumphant. It’s wonderfully hypnotic filmmaking, and while it can sometimes be quite garrish in terms of visuals, as well as having a score that some may consider overbearing, these elements are part and parcel with his directorial vision, underlining his intention to make something entirely original. His regular collaborators, as well as a few new additions to his team, work closely with the director to bring his vision to life and allow Highest 2 Lowest to flourish into something extremely compelling, even if it can be an acquired taste at times.

Whether or not Highest 2 Lowest can be considered a faithful adaptation of the novel or remake of the film is entirely irrelevant – Lee has never been guided by the belief that he needs to follow predetermined guidelines, and while his reverence for Kurosawa is never up for debate, he also doesn’t feel compelled to retread what was already done to perfection over half a century ago. Instead, he chooses to go in his own direction, creating something bold and unique that is more appropriately described as a riff on the existing works, an adaptation filtered through layers of complex commentary that only someone like Lee could successfully pull off without it seeming garish and overly indulgent. This is also a film that Lee could have only made at this point in his career – a younger version of the director would not have built the film around the grizzled wisdom that comes with over four decades of experience, and the same can be said for Washington, who is as gifted as ever, but could only truly convince us to the merits of this character through embracing the fact that he’s older and more experienced now, rather than being the rambunctious upstart that he was at the start of their professional partnership and lifelong friendship. It’s a stellar film, moving at a steady pace – it runs well over two hours, but there is never a moment in which we feel bored or as if Lee is just wasting resources, which is one of the many reasons it is so easy to acknowledge him as a generational talent, someone whose perspective and vision is always worth following, even in something that seemed to be slightly more conventional than some of his recent offerings. It’s difficult to not be entertained by Highest 2 Lowest, which is never going to occupy the upper echelons of the director’s body of work, but is still wildly entertaining, a perfect diversion from reality in which we can spend a couple of hours under the spell of a few artists who come together to create something memorable, which is all this film aimed to be and the fundamental reason it will be seen as just another audacious experiment by one of our greatest living directors.