This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 6:00 pm and is filed under A, Drama, Mob, Crime and Scam Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Starring: Lillo Brancato, Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Francis Capra
Director: Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro’s debuts as director in this feature and he does a fine job with obvious Scorsese influence. This is an excellent small-scale movie with a good story and well-developed characters, some excellent performances, along with subtle directorial flair
In a lot of ways, movie this resembles a softer, gentler Goodfellas. The story revolves around Calogero Anello, a seventeen year old Italian growing up in a 1960s Bronx neighborhood played by Lillo Brancato. Calogero is befriended by the local mob boss (Palminteri) over the objections of his father (De Niro). And this movie tells the story of his coming of age in this environment. Capra does a fine job as a nine year-old Calogero, and Palminteri and De Niro show excellence at their craft. Brancato does a respectable job, but suffers from comparison.
This is a personal favorite of mine and I recommend it whole-heartedly. There are some wonderful scenes, strong dialogue and enough action to balance out the story and make this enjoyable by all kinds of viewers.
