Ilfenesh Hadera is familiar with Spike Lee’s directorial game — an energetic way of Black storytelling with a strongly distinct voice. The Harlem, New York native has starred in his She’s Gotta Have It (2017) Netflix reboot and now is a part of his newest feature film, Highest 2 Lowest. Inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 picture, High and Low, Pam King (Hadera) fills the space of the original protagonist’s caring wife, Reiko Gondo, played by Kyoko Kagawa. Hadera’s coolheaded disposition as she discovers the welfare of her family unit is jeopardized keeps the audience at ease. King is the loving confidant to Denzel Washington’s David King, the famed musical family proves to be strong as their weakest link and within the King family line, there seems to be no room for wallowing when they are under threat.
“This is the biggest, continuous work and most emotionally demanding work that I’ve done in my career with Spike Lee,” the 39-year-old actress said. “Obviously, Denzel is an incredible scene partner and talent. He is a once in a lifetime kind of superpower. Highest 2 Lowest was a beautiful learning experience. It helped me flex some different muscles than I’m used to flexing.”
The Godfather of Harlem star is comfortable with playing characters with high stature that represent the upper-echelon of Black New York while advocating for the greater good of their neighborhood community. In Highest 2 Lowest, Pam King is a beacon for hope and a space for nurturing for her threatened teenaged son, Trey King (Aubrey Joseph). “Spike Lee’s films always send a message, right?” Hadera exclaims. “Sometimes those are subtly woven in and sometimes, he’s commenting on the changing face of Brooklyn or the changing landscape of these new skyscrapers we call sun blockers. His films are so, so characteristically him because he does always have a point to make in his storytelling.”
Pulling away from Kurosawa’s dark angle on communities that live in the boroughs beneath the affluent hillsides of Yokohama Japan, Spike Lee makes a commentary on those who disconnect from their origins and passions when they are far removed from the natural source that produces greatness — culture. Pam and David King are successors of their Brooklyn community, but it’s Pam observing that David is losing sight of the music and needs to keep his ears closer to the ground to stay afloat for the future security of his music business, Stackin’ Hits Records.
“My most special day was my last day on set when Pam and David are sitting on a bench on the Brooklyn Bridge together,” Hadera recalls Spike Lee shutting down the Brooklyn landmark for the closing scene of Highest 2 Lowest. “We are twirling around and dancing playfully. The dust has settled. Denzel and I were dancing on a summer day in New York City.” The traffic wasn’t fully stopped in moments where the cameras weren’t rolling and pedestrians caught a glimpse of Spike Lee in his element. “People were double-taking as they were passing by.” Lee’s hyper-realistic habits of capturing New York life in its realest form is what makes the auteur a true preserver of Brooklyn culture.
Hadera encompasses the matriarchy of the King Family with aptitude and care. Kyoko Kagawa’s nuanced performance of a Japanese mother who is longing for their family’s safety is the northern star for Hadera embodying Pam King. Two matriarchs relying on the forces of their successful partners to see through the violence and pain terrifying their sons. A$AP Rocky’s performance as Yung Felony who persistently harasses David King over the phone for a ransome puts Pam King in a panic. Lee pedals through the King’s emotional beats with the musicality of Highest 2 Lowest’s soundtrack, emphasizing a comeback moment or a pause of fear. At the end of the day, it’s David King’s ears and sonic intuition that saves their family.
“I have gotten through some of the most challenging times in my life because of the music that has pulled me out of a funk or let me sink into it, feel, and then shake it off,” Hadera relishes while connecting with Pam King’s affinity to music and her husband. “Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and I driving around in her car listening to Annie Lennox.”
The saving grace and title song of Highest 2 Lowest is performed in the final act by British artist, Aiyana-Lee. This closing track is what grounds David King and his family; a gospel swan song that makes the King family relish Black art, form, and the spiritual weight of music-making. “When 25th Hour came out, I was in high school. I went to LaGuardia and studied drama there. I just started taking stock of the filmmakers that I appreciated and just thought Rosario Dawson was the most incredible natural and really believed: Oh, God, if I ever get a chance to do a movie like this, this is the filmmaker I’d like to play with.”