Spike Lee’s provocative if problematic chronicling of the last day in the life of a convicted drug dealer (Edward Norton) before he’s sent to prison. The movie proceeds with a gripping sense of dread, even if it never quite comes into focus. Especially arbitrary are intermittent homages to a post-Sept. 11, 2001, New York. Lee is after something deeply poignant here, but it proves to be as elusive as his protagonist’s freedom.
