Highest 2 Lowest review

Spike Lee reimagines Kurosawa classic High and Low with Denzel Washington and Jeffrey Wright, centering wealth and power in a contemporary drama.

Highest 2 Lowest Reimagines Class and Power in a Spike Lee Film

Spike Lee returns with Highest 2 Lowest, a contemporary take on Kurosawa classic High and Low. The film centers on David King, a music mogul in Brooklyn, whose label Stackin Hits faces a merger with a large conglomerate. A kidnapping sets off a moral dilemma: pay the ransom and risk losing control, or stand firm and threaten a family.

Denzel Washington delivers a magnetic performance that anchors the film, as Lee dresses the story in opulent visuals that underscore the lure and risk of wealth. The upstairs downstairs dynamic between David and his chauffeur Paul is tense and nuanced, revealing the complexity of loyalty when money becomes the guiding force. The film engages with wealth inequality while still leaning into style and star power which can soften the edge of its critique.

Highlights

The question the film leaves is not just about money, but about what we owe each other when power multiplies.