Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
The 25th Hour depicts the last day of freedom for a young man before he begins serving a seven-year jail term for drug dealing. Prowling through the city until dawn with his two close male friends and his girlfriend, he is forced to re-examine his life and how he got himself into his predicament, which leads to a shocking, disturbing finale.—Justin Harris <[email protected]>
Monty Brogan is about to start his last day of freedom before turning himself into the authorities and serving a seven-year term for drug dealing. He's a charming young man who had always dreamed of being a fireman, following in the working-class footsteps of his father, who has had to put up his bar in Queens as bond so that his son can stay out of jail until his sentence begins. Monty, named for Montgomery Clift, does not know how he managed to get himself into this predicament. It was easy money and it carried so many perks, and you'll feel more than a little sympathy for this young man who has managed to kill his own dream for courtside seats at Madison Square Garden. But before he goes to prison, Monty wants to have one last night out on the town with his two best friends. Frank Slattery is a bond trader, one of the best and most successful risk takers in a very risky business. The other is Jakob Elinsky, an English teacher who envies his friends' lifestyles but who has no intention of ever giving up his job for the easy money, despite the disillusionment of teaching high school students in a tough school. The three young men enjoy the night into the early morning as they eat, drink, and visit the hottest spots in town. It's a sad night for Monty, but he has a plan that neither Frank nor Jacob know about--and it makes for a shocking ending to this brilliant and disturbing story.—<[email protected]>
A canary yellow vintage Super Bee pulls up short on a New York City Street, and Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) gets out with his buddy Kostya (Tony Siragusa) to look at a dog lying in the road. The animal was mauled in a dogfight and Monty intends to shoot him but changes his mind after he looks him in the eye and decides to take him to a nearby clinic instead. Monty refuses to take the dog to the government services as he knows that they will not take proper care of him.
Fast forward to late 2002, and Monty is about to begin serving a 7-year prison sentence for dealing drugs. He has 24 hours of freedom and at the 25th hour he needs to report to prison to start his sentence. He sits in the park with his dog, Doyle, thinking of his last day of freedom after walking all over the city on his last day of freedom. He passes American flags, fire station memorials, and tattered posters, reminders of those lost in the 9/11 attack.He plans to meet his childhood friends Frank (Barry Pepper) and Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman) that night at a club with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson).
Frank Slaughtery is a hot shot trader on Wall Street and Jacob Elinsky is an introverted high school teacher from a privileged family, with a crush on one of his 11th grade students named Mary. Mary stayed back behind class to argue why she got a low grade on her assignment. Jacob flirts with Mary asking her about her tattoo on her abdomen.Frank has recently taken a large position of $100 million using his firm's account on a single company. He refuses to back down even when his boss confronts him and orders him to unwind his position. Frank sticks and his hunch is proven right, making his firm a lot of money.
Monty visits his father, James (Brian Cox), a former firefighter and recovering alcoholic who owns and runs a bar, to confirm their plans to drive to prison the following morning. Though Monty's drug money helped him keep the bar, James is full of remorse, and he sneaks a drink when Monty goes to the bathroom. Monty, facing himself in the mirror, lashes out in his mind against everyone else: all the New York stereotypes he can think of, from the cabbies to the firefighters, the corner grocers to the mobsters, as if he hates them all. Monty was angry for becoming greedy and not giving up drug dealing before he was caught.
Monty sold drugs for Uncle Nikolai (Levan Uchaneishvili), a Russian mobster, along with Kostya.In a flashback, Monty remembers the night he was arrested: DEA agents raided Monty's apartment and quickly found the drugs he was selling for Uncle Nikolai. Kostya tries to persuade Monty it was Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) who turned him in since she knew where he hid his drugs and money. Monty refused to turn state's evidence against Nikolai but he's not sure what Nikolai will do when he meets him at the club that night. He remembers how he met Naturelle when she was 17, hanging around his old school, and how happy they were before he was arrested. He persuades Frank to help him find out if it was Naturelle who betrayed him.
When they all meet at the club, Jacob sees his student, Mary (Anna Paquin), and Monty invites her in with them although she is underage. Monty and Frank talk about what kind of a future he can have after prison, and Frank says they can open a bar together, even though he told Jacob he believes Monty's life is over and he deserves his sentence for dealing drugs. Frank baits Naturelle by accusing her of living high on Monty's money, and not caring where it came from, but she reminds him that he knew as well and said nothing. The argument culminates with Frank insulting Naturelle's Puerto Rican ethnicity; she slaps him and leaves.
Jacob, meanwhile, finds the courage to kiss Mary, but both of them appear to be in shock afterwards and go their separate ways. Monty and Kostya go down to talk with Uncle Nikolai, who gives Monty advice on surviving in prison. Then Nikolai tells him it was Kostya, not Naturelle, who betrayed him, and offers him the chance to kill Kostya in exchange for protecting his father's bar. Monty refuses, reminding Nikolai that he asked Monty to trust Kostya in the first place, and he tells them he's done, and that his father is done with them, and he walks out. Monty leaves Kostya to be killed by the Russian mobsters.
After they leave, he tells Naturelle that he's sorry he mistrusted her, and he has one last thing to do. He goes to the park with Jacob and Frank and asks Jacob to look after Doyle. Then he admits that he is terrified of being sexually assaulted in prison, and asks Frank to beat him, saying if he goes in ugly, he might have a chance at survival. Frank refuses, and Monty tries to provoke him, until Jacob intervenes, and Monty attacks him. Frank grabs Monty, who goads him into taking out his frustration in a fistfight, leaving Monty bruised and bloody, with a broken nose, and Frank in tears. Monty gets up and goes home.
Naturelle tries to comfort him, but Monty's father arrives to take him to Otisville. As his father drives him to the prison, James suggests they go west, into hiding, giving Monty one last vision of freedom. Once again Monty sees a parade of faces from the streets of the city, all the people he will miss; and together, they envision a future where Monty escapes imprisonment, reunites with Naturelle, starts a family, and grows old.
As they drive up the Henry Hudson Parkway, James suggests they take the George Washington Bridge to go west, into hiding, and gives Monty a vision of a future where he avoids imprisonment, reunites with Naturelle, starts a family, and grows old. When the vision stops, they are past the bridge, still driving toward the prison.
