Movie Stats:
Released 1995 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Michael Mann
Stars - Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro
Plot Summary:
A professional crew of thieves, led by Neil McCauley (DeNiro), plays cat and mouse with the LAPD, led by Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino).
Warnings:
Extreme violence; gore; heavy blue language; implied sexy times.
Bad Stuff:
It’s way too long (nearly 3 hours) with too many superfluous storylines that don’t advance the plot, like the stuff with Vincent’s stepdaughter Lauren (Natalie Portman) or the violent extracurricular activities of Neil’s former teammate Waingro (Kevin Gage).
Pacino’s scenery chewing acting is so out of control I literally laughed during moments that weren’t funny.
Amy Brennerman’s (as Neil’s love interest Eady) terribly done accent is an affront to all Southern accents (it took me a long time to realize it was even supposed to be Southern).
Good Stuff:
I liked the interplay between Neil and Vincent, especially the diner scene.
I enjoyed its message about choosing a path in life that is all-consuming and how it drew the parallel between the criminal life and the cop life. Both Neil and Vincent are addicted to the thrill of a big score; the only difference is in the score. It’s a message that could’ve been heavy-handed but wasn’t.
Neil is a good character, a believable character, and DeNiro plays him well.
About the Performance:
I really liked DeNiro in this. I don’t want to say he played out of type because he’s played a lot of criminals but there was something different about Neil. He’s tough but he’s not a wiseguy. He’s dangerous but not crazy. He’s cool, calculated, taciturn. The movie tells you nothing about his past and yet you find you can picture it, all the little moments that led him to be the kind of man who sets a serious set of rules for himself and generally moves with caution. DeNiro manages to convey a lot while saying little. It’s especially noticeable how understated he his when you compare his performance to Pacino's.
Other performances of DeNiro’s I’ve reviewed: Casino; Goodfellas; Brazil; Raging Bull; The Deer Hunter; Taxi Driver; The Godfather: Part II.
The Verdict:
As you can see, I’ve reviewed a lot of DeNiro’s films. In fact, there’s only one other actor I’ve reviewed as much as him. I had a difficult time finding a highly rated film of his I hadn’t already reviewed. Originally, I chose “Once Upon a Time in America.” My enthusiasm dimmed once I saw it’s nearly 4 hours long. I still tried to watch it but gave up after an hour (hated it). My husband owns “Heat,” has been trying to get me to watch it for years, so I thought I’d finally give it a shot. I wasn’t wowed. It’s definitely too long. I hated the subplots. And all the female characters sucked. On the other hand, I liked the main plot, the movie’s themes, and DeNiro’s acting. In the end, I decided to give it a low-end, middle-of-the-pack rating.
I give it 3.25 stars.
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ReplyDeleteI usually enjoy a DeNiro performance. This sounds like a good one.
This is one of those movies I associate with my short tenure at Blockbuster. I can't remember it being a double VHS, but it must have been, at three hours.
I checked Michael Mann to see if I've seen any of his movies (because I haven't seen this). I've watched Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemies, and Blackhat. (The last two were specifically for actors (Channing Tatum had a 15-second role in Public Enemies, Chris Hemsworth was in Blackhat.)
None of those movies did I love. I found them mostly okay, although less so with Public Enemies.
Oh! Looking over DeNiro's filmography, I'm reminded of 1991.
We're sitting around outside the Zoo, which was a club in downtown Boise. We've been waiting since 3:30 because there's a Primus show. We were the first ones down there, but time has passed and other people have come around, including females older than our eleventh-grade selves. Those females start flirting with the roadies, a couple of who are hanging out around the tour bus. They are much better at flirting that we are, as we haven't even bothered to attempt it with the much older than us roadies. So I eavesdrop.
The roadie/fan conversation turns to movies.
"Have you seen Cape Fear?" the roadie asks.
"Oh my god yes, I just *love* DeNiro!" the fan answers.
And those two lines of that conversation have stuck in my head for decades because, with that one sentence, I was reminded of my youth and inexperience. I didn't know how to flirt, there was no way I was going to watch Cape Fear because it looked way too scary, and I didn't really even know exactly who Robert DeNiro was, certainly not enough to proclaim my love for him so emphatically.
Now? I can say I like DeNiro. Who knew that the 90s would bring that very long run of sub-par comedies. I wonder if he had debts to pay off?