Clockers (1995)

Right at the height of his '90's powers, Oscar-winner Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Inside Man, Blackkklansman) decided to direct and co-adapt this powerful crime novel from Richard Price (creator of "The Wire") about a murder investigation in Brooklyn which goes much deeper than any one could have expected.  Among the prime suspects is Strike (Mekhi Phifer) who is a beleagured "clocker" which is another term for a middle-man drug pusher.  This racket is truly taking its toll on Strike who wants to find an escape.....and on his tail is the lead investigator of this murder, Detective Klein (Harvey Keitel).  Further complicating matters is that Strike's legit-working brother Victor (Isaiah Washington) becomes implicated and casting a shadow over all of this are the ruthless machinations of Strike's boss, the local druglord Rodney played by Delroy Lindo.  What results is a searing, unflinching crime drama which kind of got lost in the shuffle upon first release but has endured over the past thirty years as one of Lee's most accomplished films.  The stacked cast also includes John Turturro, Regina Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, and Keith David. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

CLOCKERS – 1995

Directed by Spike Lee

Starring Harvey Keitel, Mekhi Phifer, Delroy Lindo, Isaiah Washington, John Turturro, Peewee Love, Regina Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Sticky Fingaz, Elvis Nolasco, Fredro Staff, Hassan Johnson, Frances Foster, Michael Imperioli, Lisa Arrindell, Paul Calderon, Mike Staff, and Keith David

Genre: Crime Drama (Audio clip)

Could this possibly be Spike Lee's most underrated film? I can vaguely remember it coming out about back in the Fall of '95....in the summer leading up to its release, the trailer and advertising (it had that iconic poster riffing heavily on Anatomy of a Murder) seemed to be EVERYWHERE (at least around NYC) but nobody really saw it, the reviews were fine, and it was pretty much forgotten by year's end. :( It feels as if it just got sadly lost in the shuffle of a SLEW of buzzier (and flashier) crime dramas from around the same time period including Heat, Se7en, Dead Presidents, Devil In A Blue Dress, The Usual Suspects, and Casino. (To be fair, that WAS a great fall season for movies!) 

And that's a shame because this remains a bruising gut-punch of a drama with a lot to say (Spike Lee was always one of the better ones at converting subtext to text) about drugs, addiction, race, gun culture, law enforcement, economics, and the media-enabled perception of violence vs the real thing. :o 

This sprawling drama kicks off with a spirited discussion of gangster rap amongs several of the film's titular "clockers" who are street hustlers on the front lines of the drug trade and THEN a dramatized crime scene focusing on a murder which kicks off the plot. Harvey Keitel SEEMS initially to be the film's main protagonist as NYPD homicide detective Rocco Klein leading this investigation. We watch as he along with partner Detective Mazilli (John Turturro) start poking and prodding around this bloodied corpse trading unflinching racial barbs about the victim along with gallows humor which would clearly upset any one nearby in earshot. :o 

However the film's protagonist actually turns out to be Strike played by Mekhi Phifer in a sterling debut on-screen performance. Strike is very connected to the murder they are investigating though not MAYBE not as directly as it seems on the surface? You see he's not only a clocker, but he's THE lead clocker for local drug dealer Rodney (Delroy Lindo who devours the screen here with one of his best performances) who tasked Strike with killing the local store owner murdered at the aforementioned crime scene....for strategic reasons. Lindo is among the standouts from this cast with a genuinely chilling performance his character is always seemingly on the verge of lashing out though still has an uncanny ability to unnerve Strike whenever it suits his purposes. 

And you just cannot help but sympathize with Strike regardless of his questionable job - Pfeiffer plays him as some one who's SO focused on seeing all of the threats and angles around him that it has resulted in the kid having a continuous ulcer. :o It's borderline comical at points as we see him constantly swigging bottles of chocolate Moo (an apparent stand-in product for Yoo Hoo) to settle his stomach. Between getting pummeled (sometimes justifiably) by angry local mothers, other clockers, or even another local cop Andre played with ferocity by Keith David AND sometimes even coughing up blood thanks to his ulcer, Strike is clearly some one who's under constant physical threat - it's an effective physical performance by Phifer.

Everyone is pretty great, not least of all Keitel just confidently plowing through a lot of dense investigatory dialogue as if he's leading the most R-rated epidode of "Law & Order" which ever aired. Thomas Jefferson Byrd also leaves an impression as Rodney's intimidating henchman Errol who also has his own haunting backstory resulting from addiction. Pretty much EVERY character presented to us is flawed and damaged....and yet somewhat relatable which is the film's biggest strength. Nobody gets out clean but that doesn't mean we can't pull for them to still try. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

As has been the case with SO many fantastic Spike Lee joints, this movie kicks off with a typically bravura opening credits sequence where we see (with great work from DP Malik Hassan Sayeed who would not continue to collaborate with Lee for several more films but eventually with Kubrick for Eyes Wide Shut? 🤔) a series of startling, up-close images of the aftermath of fatal gunshots of young black men. No doubt you can see where Spike is going with this but still.....as some one who has become increasingly immune to violence or gore on-screen, I found myself genuinely wincing at much of this. 🫣 We are talking about stark, unforgiving violence where the victim not only looks lifeless but in a manner which is simply unflattering...it's kinda crazy in retrospect how this came out just a week BEFORE Se7en where the ENTIRE plot hinges on analyzing grisly murder scenes. Nothing against what Fincher pulled off with that masterpiece but this stuff feels more real AND more upsetting as a result....and over this opening credits montage, we hear a lovely, mournful ballad from Washington, DC’s-born R&B singer Marc Dorsey.  Never heard of this this guy as I had thought all along that this was actually early Stevie Wonder….Dorsey’s voice is THAT good and it’s a shame because he had a pretty short career – some soundtrack stuff throughout the ‘90s culminating with one studio album in ’99.  Still SUCH a gorgeous, soulful way to kick off the film – the song is “People In Search of a Life.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

I don’t know if this actor is particularly WASTED but I can always remember that he was a notable part of the marketing campaign, receives SECOND billing, was on QUITE the hot streak in the early ‘90’s just truly cooking with an array of top-flight directors INCLUDING Spike – he had a notable part in previous episode Jungle Fever just a couple of years prior – but also the Coen Brothers with a memorable performance as the titular Barton Fink AND Robert Redford with the scene-stealing performance which SHOULD have earned him an Oscar nomination just the year before in Quiz Show.  I’m referring to one of my personal favorites….Brooklyn, NY’s Own John Turturro – and he’s HARDLY in this movie. (Audio clip) 

It’s just kind of strange – I  mean he’s Rocco’s partner but the real heat in the movie develops between Rocco and those he’s investigating….so he kind of becomes an afterthought.  Not that he’s BAD….but he had become a prominent enough actor by this point that you just kind of notice his absence.  This would of course end up being the norm for Turturro as ever since then, he has become a regular player – sometimes with just small but memorable appearances – for both Spike Lee AND The Coen Brothers, so no complaints.  Great work if you can get it…still waiting for that elusive Oscar nomination, kinda crazy that he has yet to receive one.(Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

In a film filled with images of the raw aftermath of violence, the most startling moment ends up being merely the THREAT of violence towards someone.  It occurs roughly 2/3 of the way through after Strike has just been questioned again by Rocco….the heat is truly ON him by this point and it’s also gotten his boss Rodney’s attention.  Literally RIGHT as Strike is walking away from the door of the precinct and in view of Rocco looking on, Rodney pulls up in his car…..playfully asks Strike to join him….and what results is a TRUE acting showcase for Delroy Lindo. (Audio clip) 

Strike responds to one of Rodney’s questions in the wrong manner….yeah it’s not USUALLY recommended to drop an F-bomb against your boss but even more ill-advised in this particular incident because Rodney pulls the car over and just ERUPTS…..wails on Strike and then puts a gun firmly in his mouth.  Lindo is TRULY terrifying here and from this point on, we KNOW that Strike has to get out of Dodge ASAP! (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Even armed with fantastic source material (he co-adapts Richard Price's novel of the same name), his typically canny selection of needle-drops, and a stellar cast, Spike not only succeeds in expressing a lot of harsh truths but he still does so through a compelling, twisty story. He pulls this off so well through a lot of raw (at times uncomfortable) dialogue AND what has to the most unsettling array of violent images we have ever seen from him on-screen before or since....for spearheading what might end up being his forgotten masterpiece, Spike Lee is the MVP. (Audio clip)

Final Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5 

In many ways, this often fractured (several different POV's are presented for some crimes), 360 degree tale starts to feel like "The Wire" before The Wire ever came to be. 😉 It's definitively up there among Spike's filmography....maybe not quite on the level of Malcolm X or Do The Right Thing but likely Top Five. It deserves to be seen more than it has - definitely a high recommend, Happy 30th Anniversary to one of Spikes’s best and one of the more underrated crime dramas of the ’90’s!

Streaming on Prime Video & Starz TV

And that ends another 187 ON THE STREET review!