Jennifer Esposito as Ruby, Adrien Brody as Ritchie

Spike Lee's powerful new film, Summer of Sam, shows the true horror this hysteria caused. Through the lives of a few people, the critically acclaimed writer/director portrays a city in the throws of chaos. Son of Sam's vague police sketches blanket the daily tabloids as each paper competes for readership with its sensational coverage. For the first time, the media is directly involved with the search for a serial killer. They fuel an already blazing fire and these anxious surroundings consume the movie's main characters.

Adrien Brody as Ritchie and John Leguizamo as Vinny

Spike Lee once again proves that he's got game in this graphic drama. He takes the audience right into the victim's driver seat to see the blood dripping from the gaping wounds. Yet he doesn't dwell on the heinous crimes or the investigation behind them. The police are just one part of the big picture. Summer of Sam primarily focuses on the lives of everyday Joes and Janes that get turned upside-down during the sticky months of '77. Even though Adrien Brody steals the show as Ritchie, the unfortunate punk rocker, he gets equal playing time as the rest of the team. By this, Lee allows the audience to feel equal anger and sympathy toward all the characters involved. But Lee accomplishes something even greater in Summer of Sam. Unlike many of his previous movies, he puts forth a film that isn't just about black and white issues. This film tackles universal matters: love and hate, friendship and betrayal, marriage and infidelity.

The film also stars John Leguizamo as Vinny, the pill-popping husband who is unsatisfied with his unexotic sex life with wife Dionna (Mira Sorvino) and resorts to dipping his wick around town. Despite a near run in with the Son of Sam (Mike Badalucco), which puts the fear of God in him, his cheating ways continue on, and eventually the threat of divorce becomes more real than the threat of a mass murderer. Vinny's friend Ritchie faces some other obstacles in his own Bronx tale. Embracing the punk rock movement with full force, he alienates his old conservative Italian buds. With spiked hair and a fake British accent, Ritchie falls under suspicion. He settles down with Ruby (Jennifer Esposito), the area hootchie slut, further raising an eyebrow or two. His old group soon turns into an ignorant, angry mob ignited by the Son of Sam fever. And when they find out Ritchie leads a double life working in a gay strip joint, the boys take the law into their own hands.

Unfortunately, Lee once again insists on including himself in the script. This time around he plays television reporter John Jefferies who covers the Son of Sam case from the beginning. But his involvement only takes away from the other characters and adds nothing to the story except some slight comic relief which doesn't exactly mesh. Pointless cameos aside though, Lee's work behind the camera is brilliant. He creates a highly charged drama that captivates the world, but doesn't forget all the little people involved. This year there may not be any record-breaking temperatures outside, but Summer of Sam is definitely a scorcher.