Inside Man

"In that moment I realized, I didn't deserve her."

Inside Man is directed by Danny A Abeckaser and stars Emile Hirsch, Lucy Hale, Jake Cannavale and Ashley Greene.

Originally titled The Gemini Lounge but then retitled to the much more generic title Inside Man. The story (supposedly based on true events although to what degree I'm not sure.) follows Bobby Belucci (Hirsch) a disgraced police detective whose life spirals out of control once he discovers his wife (Ashley Greene) having an affair. After a public meltdown which leads to her leaving him for good and him being demoted as a cop he tries to seek redemption by going undercover to infiltrate the Gambino crime family's "DeMeo Crew."

Sort of a mix of Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco with Hirsch emulating both Ray Liotta and Johnny Depp but it actually works or at least for me it did. This is maybe his best role he's done since probably Alpha Dog or Into The Wild. Unfortunately not everything about this was strong because I actually feel like this lost steam as it went along and by the time the last 10 minutes rolled around and the ending happened I was kind of underwhelmed with how things ended. I feel like this movie missed a more interesting storytelling opportunity to have Hirsch's character break bad so to speak it sort of hinted at it but since this was supposedly based on true events I guess they wanted to honor the real life story.

Lucy Hale I thought was also really good here unfortunately I feel like she wasn't given enough to do and there was another storytelling aspect with her character that I feel like this movie should've taken advantage of but they didn't. If you decide to watch this you'll know what I'm talking about when it happens during the last 10 minutes or so. Overall Inside Man was better than expected and Emile Hirsch gives one of his better performances here so it's worth watching for that but overall even though this was based on real life events I feel like this movie played things too safe which led to this just feeling like a generic mob/ gangster movie by the end of this. Curious if other people have similar feelings that I did about this.

The director here seems to have no idea how to tell this story. The way some scenes come across seem so obviously wrong, as if the story, the director and the actors are not entirely on the same page. They haven't thought the film through well enough. This easily could've been at least a decent film with these actors and the crime story. However the film leaves us mostly just stunned in disbelief as to how badly this story is conveyed to us at certain times. The writing is also quite weak in some areas, and much of it just seems regurgitated from other classic crime films, (Which could still be reasonably good if done well.). At the very start of the film, it actually does seem fairly good, until you start to see all the problems I've previously mentioned here. At that point, it just starts to become ridiculous.

2.5/10.

Criminal thriller, based on real events in which Emilie Hirsch plays Bobby Belucci, a violent police detective dismissed from his position after attacking his wife's lover. After beating her lover to a pulp, she leaves him and Bobby gets demoted at work, triggering his determination to prove he's worthy of redemption. Inside Man (2023) follows disgraced New York Police Detective Belucci (Emilie Hirsch) as his life falls apart when he discovers his wife (Ashley Greene) is having an affair. Now, Bobby is looking for a second chance to regain everyone's respect. To do this, he decides to go incognito into a group of dangerous mafia members, but this results in an operation in which he will soon lose control of his actions. Bobby will stop at nothing to get close to the head of the crew, Roy DeMeo (Danny Abeckaser), to expose the murder and corruption. His plan is to go undercover as a grunt and infiltrate the Gambino crime family's notorious "DeMeo Crew," a violent and bloody faction that reigned terror in the 1960s and '70s. The gangsters join at 'The Gemini Lounge', the bar the film is centred. The price for absolution may be higher than he can afford !.

The film portrays the brutality and impunity in which the DeMeo gang, led by Roy DeMeo, acted, a criminal group laced with Gambino family that led crime in New York, committing around 200 murders between the 1970s and 1980s . Mobster movie contains top-notch performances , pretentious familiar drama , thrills , fast-paced , action , being richly narrated and including an emotive final, although also packs strong scenes , violence and profanities. The picture develops itself in the wake of classics as ¨Mike Newell's Donnie Brasco¨ and ¨Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas¨, taking parts here and there. Fresh and intelligent screenplay by Kosta Kondilopoulos, based on real N. Y. C's Italian Mafia families , including interesting characterizations taken from real mobsters. Emile Hirsch gives an acceptable acting as a disgraced police detective seeking redemption by going undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate, but he sinks deeper into the mob and more bodies drop. He falls in love for the Gemini Lounge's waiter played by Lucy Hales, but there's an underutilization of Lucy Hale's role and the absence of meaningful interactions between them. The film's cast is completed Jake Cannavale, Ashley Greene, and brief acting of Robert Davi as mobster chief Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi and even the film's director Danny A. Abeckaser who plays a main role, mobster Roy DeMeo.

'Inside Man' was originally titled 'The Gemini Lounge' and some countries still retain this name, it was professionally directed by Danny A. Abeckaser, though usually lacks nuance and relies heavily on visual cues to depict emotions and plot points. He's known for his roles in Zohan: (2008), First We Take Brooklyn (2018) and The Iceman (2012). And he's directed a few films, such as: ¨The Engineer¨, ¨Mob town¨, ¨First We Take Brooklyn¨, ¨Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story¨. Rating: 5.5/10. Passable but not notable.

Quite enjoyed this easy-to-digest undercover cop effort. Film takes place in the 1980's and you can tell they put a lot of effort into costume (especially Lucy Hale) and set decoration.

Some films, like this one are just easy to sit thru - the story is simple, pacing is even (meaning most scenes don't lag) and the dialogue progresses the plot and adds some humor as well.

They also use narration the correct way, by allowing the lead to guide the audience (similar to Goodfellas) thru the story. It's not heavy handed or over used, which is a tricky way to write a screenplay.

Overall I enjoyed this film, it doesn't try to do too much, but creates a nice 80's atmosphere and does most things correctly. Only problem is they once again use CGI for gunshot wounds. Please, directors...stop doing this! It's an immediate downgrade on any film. 6.3/10.

Wow this was surprisingly awesome. For an non-studio produced (independently funded) film, it's a B-grade version of the best big budget Hollywood-produced gangster films. Produced, directed and co-starring Danny A. Abeckaser with Emile Hirsch, and a bunch of other perfectly cast mobster-looking actors, all performances were spot on. Written by newb screenwriter Kosta Kondilopoulos, this is a very engaging and thrilling story based on true events. Aside from some pacing issues and other small rookie filmmaking mistakes, the 91 min runtime was effectively used, and although I'm not usually a fan of narrated storytelling, it actually worked well in this film. Props to all the cast and crew for pulling off such a great little indie gem. It's a well deserved 8/10 and certainly a recommended watch from me. Click on my username to see how I rate and review films, or to see more of my 1,700+ reviews and 3,000+ ratings.