Highest 2 Lowest

Reuniting for the first time in nearly two decades, director Spike Lee and star Denzel Washington are gazing inwards in Highest 2 Lowest. The crime-thriller premiered at Cannes earlier this year — as an official selection; not like something Anupam Kher might claim to have taken to the festival — and received a token theatrical release before dropping on Apple TV+. The wait was worth it. Over the last few decades, Washington and Lee have established themselves as perhaps the most vital voices in Black cinema. It is a position that the protagonist of Highest 2 Lowest finds himself in as well. David King doesn’t work in the movie business, but he is described as a kingmaker in the world of music. In many ways, he is a stand-in for both the filmmaker and his favourite star.

Presented by Apple and A24, Spike Lee’s newest, Highest 2 Lowest, is a heart-pounding thriller set in the Big Apple. Like the title, Lee goes from a high-rise penthouse to a downtown apartment as a music mogul tries to figure out who threatened and stole from him. The American filmmaker reimagines legendary Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963) and sets it in his hometown, New York, while tackling the perils of fame and questioning what it means to be a good man. The result is an exhilarating performance from longtime collaborator Denzel Washington in a film that keeps the viewer on their toes. Washington plays David King, a music mogul who is said to have the “best ears in the business.” On the verge of buying back his stake in his label, Stackin’ Hits Records, King receives a ransom call for $17.5 million saying his son has been kidnapped. King moves into action, getting the police involved. Later, it is discovered that it’s not Trey (Aubrey Joseph) but his friend Kyle who has been taken instead. Suddenly, King doesn’t want to pay the ransom. But when he tries to do the right thing, everything goes upside down.