


After 9/11, Hollywood did a lot to digitally erase shots of the Twin Towers in pre-9/11 projects to make it come off as if it would be easier to pretend the event just didn't happen while marketing materials were doing away with any Twin Tower imagery. However, after 9/11, Lee felt strongly that he could not tell a story set in the city he loves with every fiber of his being and simply ignore the devastation that New Yorkers were facing. The story is already busy because there are a lot of characters, and even though Monty's story is the central narrative, the supporting characters also have their own arcs that need to be addressed.
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Lee made an appearance with Edward Norton on the Charlie Rose Show in 2003 after the film was released, and he explained that he was prepping the movie in the early summer of 2001 as a fairly straightforward adaptation of the book. In making this decision, Lee shows New York City in the direct aftermath of the event, and the lens through which he captures the city is instantly compelling and makes Monty's surroundings so profound that they almost feel like a supporting character rather than an actual location. Lee is a New Yorker through and through, and it was important to him as someone who loves his city that he also showed what the area had gone through without overtaking Monty's story. Related: Spike Lee's First 10 Movies, RankedĢ5th Hour is a different beast, and it first starts with a crucial decision to portray New York City as it honestly was at the moment that the movie was being shot. Some are more direct and based on actual events, such as Paul Greengrass' harrowing United 93 or Oliver Stone's more procedural drama World Trade Center while others make the event an uneasy plot point that comes off entirely unnecessary, like the ending of Remember Me or the melodramatic Reign Over Me. There have been several projects that have focused, in some way, on the September 11 terrorist attacks.
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In many ways, Monty's uncertain journey towards redemption and paying for his sins is juxtaposed to a city at a crossroads and trying to bravely figure out how to rebuild.
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In all of this, New York City is the backdrop in Monty's final day as a free man, and it's a city in the midst of trying to recover from the worst terrorist attack to hit America. Despite being involved in an unsavory business, it's clear that he's a good man who is loyal to his two best friends (played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper), is undeniably in love with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), and had a proud father ( played by Brian Cox) who has his share of guilt because he thinks some of his past mistakes led Monty down the wrong road. Monty is someone who got mixed up with drugs and the wrong people while also making money off the suffering of others until he finally got busted.

Nothing about 25th Hour's synopsis would make uninitiated viewers think that Money Brogan's (Edward Norton) final day of freedom would have anything to do with September 11, 2001.
