Now i have made my first million from Ciao i am going to take it a bit easier
Now i have made my first million from Ciao i am going to take it a bit easier
Member since:05.02.2006
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Bob Gold is a Jewish detective who finds himself drawn into the complexities of the Jewish community when a shopkeeper is killed. He struggles between his loyalty to his religion and his loyalty to his badge encountering prejudice & double dealings on both sides when 2 cases intertwine.
Maybe this won't be to the tastes of Mamet fans. I initially thought it was a little slow and not typical of his usual style but after half an hour I could see that the trademark dialogue was there. Only in the final 5 minutes did I realise that this was, to me, an undiscovered Mamet gem reminiscent of Coppola/Hackmans 'the conversation' in its ending.
The film, despite being made in the early 90's, had a distinctive 70's feel to it. Whenever there was a shoot out I expected Clint Eastwood to pop up with his Magnum and ask how many shots he had left. It could
have been down to the DVD transfer but I would like to think that it was filmed in this style intentionally.
Definitely not as twisty turny as Spanish prisoner or House of games, the pace slowed down after the first 30 minutes or so but only to concentrate on Gold's (Mantegna) personal conflict with having lost his Jewish identity.
I dont understand how pretty much everyone in the film can chain-smoke but only smoke 1/3 of every ciggarette!!!
There was a sub-plot about a man who had killed his family quite early in the film. This only served to explain why Golds holster was broken and he was continually without his gun in serious situations. Not really neccesary to do it this way & a bit forced looking - but thats my only complaint
Cast -------- Bobby Gold - Joe Mantegna (House of games) Tim Sullivan - William H. Macy (The cooler) Lt. Senna - Vincent Guastaferro (state & main) Jilly Curran - J.J. Johnston (Spanish prisoner) Frank - Jack Wallace (mad dog & glory) Charlie Olcott - Lionel Mark Smith (spartan) Cathy Bates - Roberta Custer Doug Brown - Charles Stransky (spanish prisoner) James - Bernard Gray Commissioner Walker - Paul Butler (spanish prisoner) Randolph - Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction)
Other Info -------------- Director - David Mamet Written by David Mamet Runtime: 102 min ( 1 Hour 12 minutes) Rated 15 Genre - Crime /Thriller Filmed in Baltimore, Maryland, USA DVD extras - trailer & scene selection
More about the cast ----------------------------
There are several familiar faces from Mamets previous films, many of them in minor roles (house of games, state & main, spanish prisoner)
Randolph - Ving Rhames has such a distinctive voice but such a small role, difficult not to notice him when he is on screen.
Gold - A great performance by Mantegna. Once he starts to question his values & heritage you see the conflict he is going through. Should he help the Jews or Hold true to his police oaths - which are more important? Has he lived his life in a meaningful way? He has always felt like an outsider, his best friend is his partner, some of his colleagues don't respect him & take advantage of his willingness to put the job first. Instead of returning to his roots and things improving he becomes more confused and his actions begin to become mixed, the job eventually comes 2nd.
Sullivan - I have always like Macy but in this he plays a character I don't believe I have seen him approach before. Looking a little like Flanders (Simpsons) with a huge moustache, he is Golds confident partner, not the nervous loser he usually plays. Nice to see him in a bigger role rather than as a supporting actor.
Overall -----------
I didn't know what to expect from the film, it was a postal DVD rental I had forgotten about, and after 30 minutes I was a little distracted and not really paying attention. This doesn't bode well if you're watching a mamet film as there are subtleties that need to be attended to. I loved the ending & on reflection it was a much better film than I originally thought. Not an obvious blockbuster action thriller but a high quality slow burner - if you want action cop films go back to Dirty Harry. 7/10
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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