Kill the Irishman

(2011)
Actually I rented this one solely because a new co-worker talked about seeing a documentary on the subject, Danny Greene, an Irish mobster in Cleveland in the Seventies. I had never heard of Greene, but my co-worker talked about how interesting the documentary was, and, having failed to provide its title, left me to search for it on my own, coming up instead with this. Kill follows Greenes (Ray Stevenson) life from the early 60s through his death in the mid-70s. Greene is smart, cocky, and ruthless, but hes also loyal to those around him and in turn breeds loyalty. When he slowly begins his rise through organized crime, his ruthlessness serves him well, and the movie makes a case that while Greene was smart, it was mostly sheer willpower that helped elevate him above his peers and rivals in the underworld. Soon after he starts ascending he befriends a Mafia honcho, John Nardi (Vincent DOnofrio), and the two become, pardon the expression, thick as thieves. Together they give the local boss, Licavoli (Tony Lo Bianco) a run for his money, before the Mafia finally turns on one of their own and begins a crime war that ripped Cleveland apart. Theres a lot of local scenery in the film many actual Cleveland locations are used and the film retains that gritty feel of a gangster movie. All the leads are very good, but Stevenson is really magnetic as Greene; he may be a son of a bitch, but you can see why people would follow and stay loyal to him. You end up rooting for the guy even though you know hes a crook, and even though you know what happens to people who oppose the Mafia. Theres also a long subplot with a kid Greene knew in high school whos now a cop (Val Kilmer), which is also interesting. This is a good, solid gangster film with strong performances and an interesting story, and it tells a tale that not many people remember any more. Most of what is portrayed in the movie actually happened, and it has a realistic feel. There are many too many gangster/crime films out there, but this is one that bears tracking down and watching its just very well done. November 13, 2011