Jacob Elinsky In 25th Hour
Philip Seymour Hoffman rarely took the spotlight or leading role, but he was usually a pivotal part of big ensemble projects. Another terrific role of his was Jacob, a shy, tightly wound high school professor trying to prove that he is a competent, confident man, in Spike Lee’s masterful drama 25th Hour.
Hoffman provides the yin to Barry Pepper’s hotshot stockbroker yang. Pepper is Frank, who boasts about his money, power and sexual prowess to a disgruntled Jacob. Frank believes that Jacob is in the “62nd percentile of men,” which sinks the teacher’s boat. Emasculated, Jacob decides to make a move on the high-school junior (Anna Paquin) he has a thing for.
As the petrified, timid teacher, Hoffman has to swallow his pride and walk a bit on the wild side. He gives a character a great arc, shifting between what is proper and the pressure to prove himself as more than the sum of his parts. With a big frame and wounded face, Hoffman had to play many roles that were more humiliating than vindicating, as souls tortured by addiction, depression and obsession. As Jacob, he brings a fierce vulnerability to the screen as a timid New Yorker trying to make an impression. It is one of the most understated but memorable roles of his career.
At the end of his Great Movies column on the film, Roger Ebert finishes his review with a coda to Hoffman’s strengths:
“I’ve seen a lot of people drinking in a lot of movies. I’ve seen them sobering up the morning after. But I don’t remember anyone starting out sober, getting drunk and then returning to sobriety quite like Hoffman does it here. We know exactly where he’s at during these transitions, but we never see them happening.”
Considering the tough circumstances surrounding his loss, it is quite terrifying to know that much of his pain related to past addictions probably coloured and informed much of his best work, including this stellar turn in one of Spike Lee’s finest joints.