Tagarchief: John Turturro

State of Grace (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘The Irish Mob in New York’

Directed by:
Phil Joanou

Written by:
Dennis McIntyre

Cast:
Sean Penn (Terry Noonan), Ed Harris (Frankie Flannery), Gary Oldman (Jackie Flannery), Robin Wright (Kathleen Flannery), John Turturro (Nick), Burgess Meredith (Finn), R.D. Call (Pat Nicholson), Joe Viterelli (Borelli), John C. Reilly (Stevie McGuire), Deirdre O’Connell (Irene)

If you are going to make a movie about Irish hoodlums, this is the way to do it. State of Grace is the Irish GoodFellas and that is a major compliment. Its realism stretches far beyond a pint of Guinness and a few songs by The Pogues. The viewer gets treated to a real sense of what Hell’s Kitchen and its inhabitants are like.

The movie begins with Irish cop Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) returning to his old neighbourhood – Hell’s Kitchen, now named Clinton (!) – to perform an undercover job. His mission is to infiltrate the Irish gang run by Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) and terminate it before a dangerous alliance is formed with the Italian Mafia. His former best friend, Frankie’s brother Jackie (Gary Oldman), is also a member of the gang. Noonan also rekindles an old flame with Kathleen, sister of the Flannery’s. He is quickly torn between his loyalty to his friends and his official mission.

The story may sound a little cliché, which it is, but State of Grace does have a couple of surprises to offer. What makes the film really work is the striking environment it shows and the flesh and blood characters that live in it. Poverty, crime, drugs and alcohol tore this neighbourhood apart. The misery caused by this is in these characters’ DNA and determines everything they do.

A proper gangster movie usually has a crazy, hot headed, loose cannon character (think Joe Pesci’s Tommy in GoodFellas). In this film, Gary Oldman plays that role. His Jackie is one seriously disturbed – and often funny – wacko. His performance is the best thing about State of Grace, but the other cast members are excellent as well. Robin Wright adds to the heart of the film as a caring young woman who wants to improve things, but can’t – not with these people in her life. Penn is also solid in the lead as the conflicted Noonan and so is Harris as the ice-cold gang boss Frankie Flannery.

The movie ends with a The Wild Bunch-like shoot-out. This might be a bit of an odd choice for ending this particular movie with, but it still works nicely. Director Joanou uses beautiful, slow motion bullet hits mixed with St. Patrick Day parade images to create a terrific and blood boiling sequence. If you are looking for a gangster film that almost matches Scorsese’s finest work, look no further.

Rating:

Quote:
FRANKIE FLANNERY: “If I don’t call you by two o’clock or Pat don’t call you, you come in and tear ‘em apart, the spaghetti still on their spoons.”

Trivia:
The word ‘fuck’ and variation are used 210 times in the film.

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Up is down, black is white, and nothing is what it seems’

Directed by:
Joel Coen

Written by:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen

Cast:
Gabriel Byrne (Tom Reagan), Marcia Gay Harden (Verna), John Turturro (Bernie Bernbaum), Jon Polito (Johnny Caspar), J.E. Freeman (Eddie Dane), Albert Finney (Leo), Mike Starr (Frankie), Al Mancini (Tic-Tac), Steve Buscemi (Mink), Richard Woods (Mayor Dale Levander)

‘I’m talkin’ about friendship. I’m talkin’ about character. I’m talkin’ about—hell, Leo, I ain’t embarrassed to use the word—I’m talkin’ about ethics.’ That’s how Italian crime boss Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) begins his speech to Irish kingpin Leo O’Bannion (Albert Finney) in the opening of Miller’s Crossing. It immediately recalls the first scene of The Godfather, where undertaker Bonasera appeals in much the same way to Don Vito Corleone.

The favor Caspar asks of O’Bannion is permission to whack two-timing bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro). Leo refuses, since Bernie is the brother of Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), the woman he’s fallen in love with. Of course, Caspar wasn’t really asking permission—he was informing Leo as a courtesy, as he angrily makes clear after being turned down. Gangsters with ethics toward one another: that’s the foundation of Miller’s Crossing. When Leo breaks this unspoken code among the city’s corrupt rulers, the result is all-out war.

The theme of crooks with ethics is embodied in Leo’s right-hand man Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), the film’s central character. He follows a personal code that only he fully understands. Though secretly having an affair with Verna, Tom – unlike Leo – believes Bernie should be handed over to the Italians. He knows that breaking the underworld code is bad for business. But Leo is stubborn, and their disagreement grows until Tom finally confesses the affair. Leo cuts ties, and Tom immediately shifts allegiance to Caspar. His motive, however, is not self-interest. Though finished with Leo, Tom’s loyalty to his old friend remains.

The web of deceit that quickly unfolds in Miller’s Crossing is complex enough to merit a second viewing. Adding to the intricacy are numerous characters referenced but rarely seen. Still, the story – drawn from Dashiell Hammett novels like ‘The Glass Key’ and ‘Red Harvest’, and infused with classic gangster and neo-noir elements – is masterfully told. The Coens integrate these influences into a killer script, ironically born from a period of writer’s block. Their trademark humor and eccentric characters are on full display, while the dialogue carries a poetic cadence that might even make Shakespeare jealous.

The plotlines themselves may not be original, but the Coens conjure a dreamlike world where, as the tagline promises, nothing is what it seems. The mood is unmistakably Irish – you can almost smell the whiskey. Carter Burwell’s haunting score, the gorgeous cinematography, and evocative settings all heighten the effect. The tone shifts effortlessly from cartoonish to brutally violent, without warning or transition.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Gabriel Byrne makes Tom a sympathetic bastard it’s hard not to root for; if I had to trade places with a Prohibition-era gangster, I’d pick him without hesitation. The supporting roles are just as strong, with John Turturro delivering a powerhouse turn as Bernie, a spineless schemer whose lack of ethics drives the story. Miller’s Crossing also reinvents the use of hats and overcoats. Not that there’s any hidden meaning – there’s nothing’s more foolish than looking for meaning in a hat.

Features a terrific cameo from the Coen’s friend Sam Raimi as a trigger happy cop.

Rating:

Quote:
Tom Reagan: Nobody knows anybody. Not that well.

Trivia:
The Coen Brothers suffered writer’s block while working on the script for Miller’s Crossing. They took a three-week break and wrote the script for their next movie Barton Fink during that time, about a writer with writer’s block. There are two references to Barton Fink in this film. The first one is the name of Tom Reagan’s residence called ‘The Barton Arms’. The second is a newspaper article that reads ‘Seven Dead in Hotel Fire’.