Mo' Better Blues

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with a scene set in Brooklyn, New York in 1969. A group of four boys walk up to Bleek Gilliam's brownstone and ask him to come out and play baseball with them. Bleek's mother insists that he continue his trumpet lesson, to his chagrin. His father becomes concerned that Bleek will grow up to be a sissy, and a family argument ensues. In the end, Bleek continues playing his trumpet, and his friends go away.
The next scene brings us to the present (over twenty years later), with an adult Bleek (Denzel Washington) performing on the trumpet at a busy nightclub with his jazz band, The Bleek Quintet (Jeff "Tain" Watts, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito and Bill Nunn). Giant (Spike Lee, one of his boyhood friends from the previous scene and current manager of Bleek's band), is waiting in the wings, and advises him to stop allowing his saxophone player Shadow Henderson (Snipes) to grandstand with long solos.
The next morning Bleek wakes up with his girlfriend, Indigo Downes (Joie Lee). She leaves to go to class, while he meets his father by the Brooklyn Bridge for a game of catch, telling him that while he does like Indigo, he likes other women too and is not ready to make a commitment. Later in the day while he is practicing his trumpet, another woman named Clarke Bentancourt (Cynda Williams) visits him. She suggests he fire Giant as his manager; he suggests that they make love (which he refers to as "mo’ better"). She bites his lip and he becomes upset about it, saying, "I make my living with my lips", as he examines the bleeding bottom lip.
Giant is with his bookie, betting on baseball. Then he goes to the nightclub and argues with the doormen about what time to let the patrons into the club. He meets Bleek inside with the rest of the band, except for the pianist, Left Hand Lacey (Esposito), who arrives late with his French girlfriend and is scolded by Giant. Later Giant goes to the club owners’ office, points out how busy the club has been since Bleek and his band began playing there, and unsuccessfully attempts to renegotiate their contract.
Giant meets his bookie (Rubén Blades) the next morning, who is concerned that Giant is going too deep into debt. Giant shrugs it off, and places several new bets. He then stops off at Shadow's home to drop off a record. Shadow confides in him that he is cheating on his girlfriend. This leads to the next scene where Bleek is in bed with Clarke, and she asks him to let her sing a number at the club with his band, to which he declines.
Bleek and Giant are fending off requests from the other members of the band, especially Shadow, for a raise due to the band's success at the club. Bleek goes to the club owners to see about more money, which they refuse, reminding him that it was Giant who locked him into the current deal.
That night at the club, both Clarke and Indigo arrive at the club to see Bleek. They are wearing the same style dress, which Bleek had purchased for them both. Bleek attempts to work it out with each girl, but they are both upset with him over the dresses, and though he sleeps with them each again they leave him (after he calls each of them by the other's name). However, tension rises with Shadow, who has feelings for Clarke.
Bleek and Giant go for a bike ride, where Bleek insists to Giant that he do a better job managing and bringing in money. Giant promises to do so, then asks Bleek for a loan to pay off his gambling debt. Bleek declines, and later Giant is apprehended by two loan sharks (Samuel L. Jackson and Leonard L. Thomas) who demand payment. Giant can’t pay and gets his fingers broken. Later Giant tells Bleek that he fell off his bike on the ride home, but Bleek does not believe him. Giant asks the other band members for money and Left loans him five hundred dollars. When loan sharks stake out Giant's home, he goes to Bleek for a place to stay. Bleek agrees to help him raise the money, but fires him as manager.
Bleek misses both his girlfriends, leaving messages for each, but Clarke has begun a new relationship with Shadow. Bleek finds out about it, and fires Shadow after the two fight backstage before a gig. The loan sharks track Giant down at the club before Bleek can come up with the money, take him outside and beat him while Bleek plays. Bleek goes outside to intervene, and gets beaten as well. Additionally, one loan shark (Samuel L. Jackson) takes Bleek's own trumpet, and smacks him across the face with it. This not only puts Bleek in the hospital, but it also permanently injures his lip, making him unable to continue playing trumpet.
Months later, Bleek reunites with Giant, who has gotten a job as a doorman and stopped gambling. He drops in to see Shadow and Clarke, who are now performing together with the rest of Bleek's former band. Shadow invites him on stage, and they play together. Bleek still has scars to his lips, and is unable to play correctly. He walks off the stage, gives his trumpet to Giant, and goes directly to Indigo's house. She is angry with him because she hasn’t heard from him in over a year. She tries to reject him, but agrees to take him back when he begs her to save his life.
A montage flashes through their wedding, the birth of their son, Miles, and Bleek teaching his son to play the trumpet. In the final scene of the movie, Miles is ten years old, and wants to go outside to play with his friends. Indigo wants him to finish practicing his trumpet lessons. However, unlike the (almost identical) opening scene in the beginning of the film, Bleek relents and allows his son to leave and play with friends. This final scene uses exactly the same dialogue as the first, with changes only in the delivery of the dialogue. A major part of the film's themes is cause and effect and fate. In letting Miles stop practicing which Bleek never did, then maybe his life will lead to an alternate, and ultimately happier, conclusion.

Tags: violence, melodrama

Review:
After the commercial and critical success of "Do The Right Thing," in which Lee announced his arrival as a major player, he choose to follow up his breakthrough with a more personal film.
If you examine history, it seems all iconoclasts choose to do so after their first big success ("The Conversation," "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind," "Talk Radio"), and Lee decided to pay homage to what he's always referred to simply as "the music." Set in then-present day 1990, "Mo' Better Blues" tells the tale of Denzel Washington as Bleek Gilliam, a selfish trumpeter who fronts his own jazz quintet in an upscale Brooklyn club.
Bleek must decide whether to trust Giant or risk losing his band, while deciding how long he can keep up the game between Indigo and Clarke.This, simply, is one of my favorite Lee films.
Lee is also skillful at making Bleek the antagonist of the film without rendering him completely unlikable.
The "Love Supreme" montage ending seemed to stretch the film for longer than some would have liked, but I feel it was justified in order to illustrate the beauty and necessity of Bleek's redemption.
Lee was also smart to reduce screen time given to the film's true protagonist, saxophonist Shadow Henderson (rendered with cool, suave sophistication by Wesley Snipes), in order to keep the audience focused on Bleek.
Lee focuses in on characters at times, as though they are standing and talking to a camera by themselves in some sterile room, such that it actually cheapens the film.
One of Spike Lee's best, "Mo Better Blues" captures the atmosphere of jazz.
Spike Lee's latest 'joint' is a jazz variation of 'She's Gotta Have It', with the genders reversed: maladjusted trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) juggles two lovers while indulging an almost neurotic addiction to his music.
His compulsive behavior is, presumably, a consequence of strict childhood practice habits, but if all work and no play have made Bleek a dull boy, the same can't be said of the film itself: Lee's self-conscious homage to music and fatherhood suffers from a dizzy overabundance of distracting, Scorsese-influenced 'style'.
One of the best film's Spike Lee has ever created.
Denzel Washington plays Bleek Gilliam, a selfish musician who only listens to his music.
When Bleek lost the love of his life (watch the film to learn why), he was forced to make some hard choices about his life and face some unpleasant truths (something we've all had to do).I enjoyed the score and the jazz pieces included in this film (after all, Bleek played the trumpet).
The story is a bit uneven, but the acting and the music more than make up for it.Denzel Washington plays Bleek Gilliam, a NYC trumpet player who fronts his own jazz quintet to sell-out crowds at a local club.
Meanwhile, Bleek is seeing two different women (played by Joie Lee [Spike's real-life sister] and Cynda Williams), and is torn between his passion for music and his inability to control his relationships.
Things go haywire when Bleek's sax player, Shadow (Wesley Snipes), vies for the affections of one of Bleek's women, promising her fortune and fame as a jazz singer since Bleek only cares about himself anyway.Giant's gambling problems, Bleek's convictions as a "serious" musician, and the tightrope one walks between love and professional dedication are themes all visited in this exciting, vibrant film.
Besides the wonderful performances (by Washington, Snipes, and the always-underrated Lee standby Giancarlo Esposito, among others), Ernest Dicekrson's cinematography is stunning, and the music -- performed in real life by Branford Marsalis, who has a cameo in the film -- is dazzling.
The way the "band" mimes the performances is thoroughlly convincing (although it must be noted that Bleek's drummer is played by Jeff "Tain" Watts, a real jazz drummer who actually performs on the tracks themselves).If you're a jazz lover and a lover of Spike Lee's movies, check this out -- you'll be glad you did..
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee remind me of Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi when it comes to actors and directors.This is the first film they worked on together and it was a success.
The storyline and music are all great and Spike continues to make good movie.
In Spike Lee's fourth film, Denzel Washington proves early in his career that he is capable of being funny and romantic in a more modest film than Glory or Cry Freedom, the music is breezy and romantic and consistent, jazzy and colorful cinematography, and another characteristic Spike Lee touch, which is his gift for drawing from his actors stunningly realistic performances.
Maybe it is.Mo' Better Blues is a good, steady, effective drama, a portrait of a complex and overwrought musician and the indecision and jealousy that gradually eat away at his life, but it lacks the passion and brazen provocative nature of nearly all of Spike Lee's other films.The cast, once again, is brilliant.
Jackson entertains in one of his millions and billions of early bit roles.If I were to say, "I'm in the mood for a Spike Lee joint," this would not be one of the first films I pick, but it's different and enthralling.
Things get dull early an often in this in this mawkish jazz bio fiction written and directed by Spike Lee.Bleek Gilliam (Denzell Washington) is a happenin' jazz trumpeter that fronts a quintet packing them in at Below the Underdog.
I loved this film and it is tied with Malcolm X as my favorite Spike Lee film..
I don't know if he saw the money from Do the Right Thing and ran with it, or what  but this film did not demonstrate his true talent.For anyone out there that has seen this film, and perhaps stopped watching anything directed by Spike Lee afterwards due to this film, I suggest you give him a second chance.
He really is one of the most versatile actors of this generation, and I do consider him the Sydney Poitier of cinema, but this was not the film to showcase his talent.Another issue that I had with this film was the use of Spike's sister playing one of the love interests.
Perhaps that is how he could afford both Denzel and Wesley in the same movie without any explosions.There were two great scenes in this film that made it worth watching through to the end.
The other scene that was worth watching was the way that Lee introduced and ended the film.
This was a frustrating movie for me because it was at times brilliant, yet there are a few things that could have been done better.Spike Lee shows why he is revered as a writer director, with beautiful dynamic shots, intercut with smooth jazz.
Also Spike Lee's performance was very weak compared to Denzel's and he should have stayed out of the movie.
Review: I've never really been a big fan of Spike Lee's movies, mainly because I don't like his directing and writing methods, and his pro-black message was used to death but I thought that it would be good to see how far Denzel Washington has come in his career.
For those of you who don't remember the plot, the film is based around a trumpet player, Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington), who regularly plays in a club with his band, and is managed by his best friend, Giant (Spike Lee), who is addicted to gambling and hasn't paid the band for a long time.
As Bleek is the leader of the band, everyone turns to him for there wages, knowing that there manager is useless but Bleek stays loyal to his friend, whilst trying to hold a relationship with Indigo (Joie Lee) and Clarke (Cynda Williams).
He also had a few scraps with fellow directors in the media, and his movies started to take less money at the box office, mainly because people was getting a bit fed up with the same theme, so after releasing Girl 6 and He Got Game, he decided to make a movie about true events called Summer Of Sam. 25th Hour was also a change of direction for Spike Lee, and he started to turn his career to TV for a while.
Anyway, it's a watchable movie but not a classic.Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: $16millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their music/romance/dramas, starring Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Joie Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Cynda Williams, Nicholas Turturro, Samuel L.
Furthermore with Spike Lee as a director and a lot of good actors you have a good start for a film.It's kind of a dramatic and comedy film.
Let me describe it as a witness would describe a crime.I saw, what appeared to be Denzel Washington playing the role of Bleek Gilliam, a musician in Harlem.
His manager's name was Giant who was a man in the form of Spike Lee. Bleek was involved with two women, Indigo and Clark who donned the flesh of Joie Lee and Cynda Williams.
Great music and good acting but as in many of Lee´s films:TOO LONG!!.
I saw this a couple of years ago and I don´t remember so much from it.But then I saw it again last month with my girlfriend I thought that it was too long.It could have been much better.The first half hour is great but the film is over 2 hours and you get bored and almost forget the story in the end.That´s a problem with some of Spike Lee´s films that they are too long but this film has great music and very good acting.I recommend "Jungle fever" for entertaining and "Do the right thing" as a masterpiece.2/5.
Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues is quite a compelling jazz drama.
Having just watched Do the Right Thing, I'm now reviewing Spike Lee's follow-up Mo' Better Blues which I also watched on YouTube.
Spike plays Giant, manager to Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) whose jazz band is the hottest in the club.
I have seen many films that have been written by,directed by and starred Spike Lee as well as his sister Joie.
This film was better than Spike Lee's other films since race doesn't play quite as big a factor in this film as it does in some of the other films he has produced..
I love Inside Man, a more conventional film for Lee, but Mo' Better Blues is far more personal.
The acting is all round great, headed by Denzel Washington as Bleek, the artist who loves the music more than his friends.
I myself liked it, it had me tapping my feet all the through.The film is a little long and can sometimes lose its way, but this is a very enjoyable film, a solid effort from Spike Lee..
mo' better blues was the only film of spike's back catalog that i hadn't seen yet, or more than once.
my only two complaints about the film: like most of spike's good movies, it runs out of steam before the credits.
Even thought you can definitely tell this is a Spike Lee movie and is definitely worth a watch, to me being Spike fan this did not really appeal to me as much as i thought it would of.It being a Lee film you thought it would of had a bit more power and satire humour to it and having two of the biggest names ever (Denzel Washington and Wesly Snipes) it is no more than simple little love triangle between the two.Blues is something that they just play at a club but the film dos not really resolve around any of tat specific subject.
I always thought That Lee had never made a bad film but this just did not really do it for me.Although i did like the acting and the photography was excellent.
This movie has three things I love - Denzel, jazz, and baseball.
Another two stars off because of the Spike Lee weird camera thing.
While you are playing that trumpet, your sax player (Wesley Snipes) is scheming about his own band, the two lovers (Joie Lee & Cynda Williams) that you are torn between are tired of being ignored, and your manager (Spike Lee) is so deep into the bookie that he will never get out and drag you down with him.Work and love.
Denzell Washington (Traing Day, Glory) is Bleek Gilliam, the leader of a jazz quintet who is so focused on his music that he ignored all that is going on around him until it is too late.
Bleek has to face these questions, as we all do at one time or another.Sure there is great music to listen to in this film, but there is so much more to ponder while listening..
I want to recommend Mo' Better Blues more, at least to a specific crowd, than I can exactly, even though it is a good film.
Quite simply, for jazz fans, this is where it's at as far as great soundtracks go, and on top of the sensational tracks that Lee has put together, with the given greats like Coltrane, Davis, and probably Rollins in there somewhere, there's also the final musical score provided by his father, Bill.
So at the least, as a jazz fan personally more than anything, this provides some many fine moments (Lee is also very good at using excellent Coltrane tracks for love scenes, or just talking scenes, or whatever).Unfortunately Lee doesn't have quite the same control over the sensibilities of his characters.
There wasn't really much I cared about with the main character, Bleek Gilliam, played by Denzel Washington, because he's like one of those interesting yet purely shallow, self-absorbed archetypes that one's seen in many other musical dramas.
More intriguing, however, than the sexual mind-games that end up getting played on Bleek via his infidelities and the eventual match-up of Clark and Shadow, is Spike Lee's own Giant.
Here, as in Do the Right Thing, he does give him some dimension, and through the clichéd wormy-guy-who-owes-gambling-debts-to-gangsters sub-plot, there is truth there in how he plays it.In fact, the acting and Lee's own determined, headstrong direction is not the problem I had with the film.
The actors are always dependable to follow the emotional lines to a believable fault, which is obviously part of the atmosphere Lee has on this and many other films of his; we can't imagine these characters acting any other way, even if they're a little 'too' theatrical for their own good.
And I will probably like watching parts of this on TV again if it comes on just to see those wonderful shots that Lee gets at times, like the circular spin around Washington as he practices playing trumpet with just his fingers miming at the camera, or when Lee is avoiding the hoods and tries to go swiftly past the car waiting for him, or even the very Scorsesean uses of red tinting in the lighting schemes and the usage of slow motion.So really, Mo' Better Blues has got a lot of things going for it, including a swift, cool sense of humor at times (I loved Robin Harris's bits of stand-up on stage, and the down to earth nature of the band members in smaller scenes), and a soundtrack I'd love to seek out if it were available.
"Mo' Better Blues" is Spike Lee's immediate follower of the unanimously acclaimed "Do the Right Thing".
And if not 'Mo' Better' than the glorious predecessor, Lee still 'did the right thing' by tackling a less political subject and pay a beautiful tribute to jazz music through one of the most under-appreciated performances of the 90's: Denzel Washington as Bleek Gilliam, the trumpet player."Do the Right Thing" also coincided with the year Washington won his first Oscar for his performance as the tormented Afro-American soldier questioning the value of his engagement with the Yankees.
The list would be incomplete without Spike Lee who plays Giant, an ironic name for the vertically challenged manager of the band.
All he's got left is Indigo, and she only accepts after he begs her to ''save his life', which means that he finally triumphed over his own ego.Part choice, part luck, the film subtly parallels life with jazz music, which is one third- dedication, one third-inspiration and one-third improvisation, Bleek was too dedicated to himself to see how listening to the others could help him.
I have worked as a jazz trumpet player, and I thought Spike Lee's presentation of the darker side of jazz was brilliant.
I myself have had to address many of the problems faced by Denzel Washington's character in this movie, and I think it should be required viewing for aspiring jazz musicians.
The music in this movie is wonderful, and the acting quite good (Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes probably don't know how to play their instruments as wonderfully as what we could hear, but they faked it well).
As usual, Spike Lee appears in the film.
*****************************SPOILER*************************Interestingly, the movie ends almost exactly the way it started, except Bleek is an adult whose son is practicing the trumpet, and this time the boy gets to go out and play with his friends.
Not My Favorite Spike Lee Movie.
As with several of Spike Lee's earlier films I just do not get them as they are not part of the lifestyle I lead.
This film says a lot about trumpet music and jazz, it's just not my cup of tea, I would much rather watch Lee's more racial driven films.
This film marks the first of four collaborations that Spike Lee and Denzele Washington have conferred on together and it is their least effective, but every one has got to start somewhere.
Spike Lee took a gander at the music world with 1990's "Mo' Better Blues", starring Denzel Washington as a musician.
It seems like the music throughout the movie was jazz, not blues.