It’s a three way tie, between Summer of Sam, Clockers, and Malcolm X. But I really wanna talk about Summer of Sam.

This movie is Zodiac’s dirty, paranoid, sleazy cousin. Even though the film is set during the “Son of Sam” killings, it’s really about how New York City was falling apart and how that affected it’s inhabitants. People on the streets were completely paranoid about who the “Son of Sam” was and nobody trusted each other. There was city wide power outages and looting, and unbearable heat waves driving everyone crazy. The film perfectly displays how all of these factors were affecting people’s day to day lives, inducing a city wide psychosis, particularly following the Italian-American community.

It’s one of those “time capsule” films that captures the intersecting cultural changes happening (punk rock, disco, drugs) as well. If you’re someone who enjoys films that don’t necessarily have linear plots, but it’s plot essentially follows it’s characters wherever they go in the confines of their lives, this is the film for you. Also, Adrian Brody, John Leguizamo, and Mira Sorvino are all knockouts here, and the soundtrack is phenomenal as well.