(Warning: Spoilers from ‘Highest 2 Lowest” below…)
Nearly 20 years after their last collaboration, Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are teaming up again for a crime thriller that shows the two-time-Oscar-winning actor going to great lengths to protect his family and his music empire.
Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” a modern re-imagining of the 1963 film “High and Low” by Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa (which was a loosely based on Ed McBain’s 1959 novel “King’s Ransom”), introduces audiences to Washington’s character, David King, a music mogul at a New York City music label called Stackin’ Hits Records. David intends to thwart a merger at the company so he can buy the label and have complete control of the company he helped build. But on the day of his planned business deal, David receives a call from a mysterious man who says he has abducted him son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), and will not return him safely until he receives $17.5 million.
David tells the police he will pay the ransom but changes his mind once he learns that the kidnapper accidentally took the son of his driver, Paul, played by Jeffrey Wright. Despite the mix up, the abductor calls again and says he still wants David to fork over the money or Paul’s son, Kyle (Elijah Wright), will die.
The ruthless unknown figure making demands at the other end of the line is played by rapper A$AP Rocky. During the movie’s final act, Washington and A$AP Rocky’s characters come face-to-face for the first time in two intense scenes, exchanging bars and jabs. There’s an effortlessness to the back-and-forth between them, a groove that is also felt in the way Washington carries himself the entire film.
Washington tells TODAY.com that reuniting with Lee and making “Highest 2 Lowest,” their sixth film together and first since 2006’s “Inside Man,” felt familiar.
“It was just like (an) old hat, you know, like putting the glove back on,” he says about their reunion. “Bang, here we go. There’s a rhythm to it.”
Below, Washington and Wright break down pivotal scenes in “Highest 2 Lowest” and discuss working with each other and A$AP Rocky. Read on to find out what the two co-stars shared and how the “Highest 2 Lowest” ends.
Jeffrey Wright Unpacks Heart-Wrenching Scene With Denzel Washington
After learning that his son is safe, David is reluctant to pay the ransom, knowing that if he does then he won’t have enough money to buy back ownership of Stackin’ Hits Records. During one of the most emotional moments in the movie, Paul goes to his boss and pleads with him to help bring his son home. Wright opens up about shooting the taxing scene to TODAY.com.
“That’s the critical question (at the center of the film): ‘What would you do?’ But in this case, I am in the middle of it,” says Wright. The Academy Award nominee adds that having his son Elijah portray Kyle — in his feature film debut — made the scene feel more real.
“As a father, with my son Elijah playing the role, that helped kind of intensify the stakes for me,” Wright shares. “It’s also a little bit of this edge in there, this challenge in there, because you’re coming with your hand out in a place of almost helplessness.”
He continues, “So, I wanted to make sure that that was done, but he was able to maintain his sense of dignity at the same time, being completely exposed to the hard facts of the danger that his son was in.”
Wright explains that the conversation is portrayed differently in Kurosawa’s film — which follows a wealthy shoe executive named Kingo (Toshiro Mifune) whose family becomes the target of a ruthless kidnapper — because it represents the differences in social classes specific to Japanese culture.
He says his character’s “High and Low” counterpart (Aoki, played by Yutaka Sada) is “completely submissive, almost to the point of he’s completely powerless. I wanted to see if I could kind of right the balance there a little bit.”
But David remains unconvinced he should pay the hefty ransom following Paul’s emotional plea and rejects him. It isn’t until the music titan has a harsh heart-to-heart with his own son that he changes his mind.
David agrees to meet A$AP Rocky’s character, later revealed to be aspiring rapper Yung Felon, while working with authorities to set a trap. He rides the subway to the Yankee Stadium stop in the Bronx and accidentally drops the backpack containing the $17.5 million and a tracking device. Through a series of diversions, Yung Felon evades the police and gets away with the cash. He honors his word and sets Kyle free, leaving the teen bloodied and bruised in a park.
What Happens at the End of ‘Highest 2 Lowest’?
Although David is seen as a local hero, his fellow music executives realize that he used their money for the ransom and threaten to sue him for breach of contract. He leaves his office and decides to stroll the Brooklyn Bridge and listen to songs from artists who sent demos to the label in hopes of receiving a record deal. David, with the self-described “best ears in the business,” notices that one of the tracks features an artist with the same voice as the kidnapper.
When the police aren’t quick to investigate his theory, David and Paul follow a tip that leads them to Yung Felon’s apartment and later to a studio where he is recording a song. David, armed, goes into the studio alone and confronts Yung Felon. The young artist calls out David for not recognizing his talents sooner, blaming the exec for his lack of success in life.
Washington praises A$AP Rocky’s performance in their scenes together, telling TODAY.com, “He came in ready, and so did I, and we just hit the ball back and forth across the net. It was simple. It was easy because he was prepared, and so was I.”
The 70-year-old actor adds, “He’s a wonderful young artist. He’s a wonderful young actor, and the sky’s the limit for him.”
Yung Felon fires a gunshot at David before running away and boarding a train. But David is right behind him, and the two fight before the mogul gains the upper hand. Yung Felon is arrested and publicly claims he is innocent as he arrives at a courthouse surrounded by supporters. Privately, he accepts a plea deal to go to prison for a couple decades. He also has a final request: to speak to David one more time.
The two sit down, separated by a glass partition, for another sparring of words. Yung Felon says his popularity has caused his song to skyrocket on charts around the world. He says multiple labels are interested in him, but he wants David to sign him. David rebuffs his offer, revealing that he no longer works for Stackin’ Hits Records and is starting a smaller, independent label. Yung Felon becomes enraged as he is dragged away by guards.
In the final scene, David meets with a new artist named Sula (Aiyana-Lee), discovered by his son, who wants to be a star. She sings an original song for him, titled “Highest 2 Lowest,” before David promises to make her dream come true.
At the end of the film it’s revealed the David’s new label will be a family managed business.
