Highest 2 Lowest (2025)

Plot of Highest 2 Lowest: David King is the principle shareholder in a New York music company which is on the verge of being sold to another organisation, but he has managed to borrow the money to buy out his two partners, using his home and more as collateral. He has a driver, Paul, and their two sons, both seventeen years old are close friends. All their worlds are turned upside down when the boys are kidnapped and David receives a communication asking for $17.5 million in Swiss francs for the safe return of his son. They decide to pay the ransom, but then his son Trey, is found. The kidnappers have held Kyle, Paul’s son by mistake. David now has a dilemma. Should he still pay the ransom, and if he does what will his lenders think about the use of the money?

Content: No sex or nudity, although the IMDb guide noted that during rap being performed a number of ladies were shaking their large bottoms at the camera. David King is seen going about his day to day business, being driven in his very modern Rolls-Royce by Paul, and where-ever he goes there are young people trying to gain his attention, to join his record company. It is obvious that the police think that somehow Paul the driver is involved, but then Trey is found and the whole business is stood on its head. King takes the money in a rucksack and the villains somehow get away with it despite the police following it. He recognises some rapping which gives him an idea about where the kidnapped boy might be.

A View: Spike Lee can do no wrong so the critics loved this, but chose to over look the pretty thin plot, which relied a lot on the persona of Denzel Washington.

It was an interesting look at what it might be like to be the main man in a music company, and the conundrum about whether to pay the ransom works well. But I had problems with some of the more practical aspects of the plot, particularly how the villains get away with the money. It was almost as if the director had lost interest by that time. You would have to be a fan of either Lee or Washington to get anything out of this outing, so not really a watch even for nothing.

 Fun Fact: The film ends with a song by a girl called Sula. I think her pianist is the same man who played the piano for Adele at her concert at the Griffith Observatory.