Mo' Better Blues

Bleek is a jazz trumpeter in New York. He leads his own band, is permanently at odds with his saxophonist, sees two women at once and makes no real room for anybody. Music comes before everything, and the film shows what that costs. Spike Lee gives the performance scenes genuine musical weight: the playing is by the Branford Marsalis quartet with Terence Blanchard on trumpet, and the stage sequences are allowed to run. That is why the match between Denzel Washington's hands and the sound coming out is convincing. The most argued over element is not the music. The way the two Jewish brothers who run the club are drawn drew heavy criticism on release, with Jewish organisations condemning the film outright. Lee defended himself and the argument went on for years; it remains one of the first things raised whenever the film comes up. Its flaws: the women are narrowly written and the ending resolves too neatly. Who it is for: viewers who love jazz and Spike Lee. Who it is not for: anyone who weighs the film differently because of that depiction.