Summer of Sam
Spike Lee’s take on the “Son of Sam” murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American South Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.
- Director: Spike Lee
- Genre:Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller
- Runtime:142 minutes
Cast
John Leguizamo : Vinny
Adrien Brody : Richie
Mira Sorvino : Dionna
Jennifer Esposito: Ruby
Michael Rispoli : Joey T
Writer Jimmy Breslin begins narrating the film; telling the viewer about New York’s current prosperity. However, things were not always this way, showing news articles from 1977 about the .44 Caliber Killer and explaining how the city was in a massive state of decay, explaining that there are 8 million stories in the naked city, and this is one of them:
We are shown a disgusting apartment with a man screaming to stop an incessant dog barking. Eventually, he goes out and shoots two girls talking in a parked car. The film cuts to Vinny (John Leguizamo) and his wife Dionna (Mira Sorvino) going to a night club for dancing and to meet up with their friends. Dionna’s cousin asks to be taken home and Vinny offers to give her a ride, allowing Dionna to stay. We soon discover the real reason he offered to take her home was to have sex with her in the back seat of his car. However, before he can finish, the two are scared off by another couple in the car behind him. As Vinny speeds off, the killer comes out of the bushes and kills the couple.
While driving Dionna home, she begins questioning what took Vinny so long to drive her cousin home. Vinny offers the excuse that he had to urinate but before she can question him further, they arrive at the exact same spot where Vinny was having his affair, only now it is a crime scene. Vinny goes to investigate and to his horror, it is the same couple that scared him off. Vinny begins vomiting as he gets back to the car, telling Dionna that the .44 Caliber Killer is back. The next day as Vinny’s friends; Joey T (Michael Rispoli), Brian, and Anthony inquire about the killer, they tell Vinny that the killer probably saw him and will come after him too. Although they are joking, Vinny begins taking this to heart. Soon after, Ritchie (Adrien Brody) shows up in a punk fashion to which all except Vinny object to. Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) is the last to arrive and after being dumped by her boyfriend who was only using her for sex, immediately takes an interest in Ritchie and his new style.
At Dionna’s father’s restaurant, the local mob boss Luigi (Ben Gazzara) is asked by one of the detectives (Anthony LaPaglia) on the .44 Caliber Killer case for help. Luigi initially refuses, but after hearing the letter left by the .44 Caliber Killer, now called the Son of Sam, agrees. Meanwhile, as Ruby discusses her current predicaments with Vinny at the salon, Ritchie comes in asking for money as he has been kicked out and forced to move into his garage after walking in on his mother and stepfather having sex. Vinny offers to give Ritchie a place to stay for a while, but Ruby convinces him to move into the garage and fix it up with her help. That night as Ritchie and Ruby finish redecorating the garage, Ruby attempts to give Ritchie oral sex but he asks her to stop. Befor e she can leave, Ritchie explains that just because he doesn’t want to have sex with her, doesn’t mean he wants her to leave. Read more
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