Hoffa

Life made him famous, but death turned him into a legend. If it weren't for his mysterious disappearance probably due to his connections with the mob, it's doubtful that Jimmy Hoffa, the leader of the most powerful union would have been such a deeply rooted figure in American pop-culture. This posthumous place among the unsolved mysteries of the last century was begging for a movie adaptation, and Danny DeVito's turned into quite an interesting biopic, but strangely enough, it says a lot about the man without saying that much. At the end of the film, I knew some of his achievements, but the motives, the traumas, the obsessions, what makes a character fascinating, were still a mystery.

This is not to belittle the film's educational value, but I don't think such a complex public figure can be understood if we don't even have some quick glimpses about his past, his background and his family. It's as if Danny DeVito sticked with the public image of Hoffa and didn't give us enough to hook our hearts on outside the Teamster business, which is a pity because Jack Nicholson made the character and gave him such an aura that it genuinely made me curious about the man. Yet, nothing is shared except what he tells his friends, the mob, the journalists, and Bobby Kennedy. I was begging for an intimate moment with his wife, not because "behind every great men, there's a woman" but because men do confess to their wives, share with them the off-the-record stuff, but "Hoffa" is not in the same caliber than, say, Oliver Stone's "Nixon", which is about a no less controversial figure. And I guess I wasn't surprised because I saw the wife in the middle of the film but because she was showed while she was useless plot-wise.

On the other hand, the film tackles its subject in a very serious and entertaining way that I'm asking myself if DeVito or the screenwriters did have enough material to approach the privacy of Hoffa, maybe they didn't, or maybe they had but they didn't have enough time. The film is more trying to answer to the question of Hoffa's whacking than the typical rise and fall, it's more about the way he became an instrument of the mob with a pragmatic view on the ends- justifies-the mean theory, but we never see how effective they are for the Teamsters. I learned more about the rights and the struggle of truck drivers from the underrated film-noir "They Drive by Night" or the thriller "Wages of Fear" than "Hoffa", which is saying a lot because it had to be about trucks too, Ebert said that DeVito showed a man who was all about trucks, he talked and breathed 'truck', well how about showing these trucks in the first place? The film fails providing insights on the character by focusing too much on the controversy; it doesn't help to get enough perspective. Imagine if "Nixon" was only about the Watergate, you wouldn't have known about Nixon AND the Watergate either, DeVito's film lacked focus and scope.

It's interesting that the film was made in 1992, the same year than another and better biopic, Spike Lee's "Malcolm X", the film is three-hour long but takes you from the roots of the leader, when he was a small-time crook to his rise as one charismatic orator. In "Hoffa", we never see him driving a truck, nourishing his heart with socialist ideas and revolting against the system. From the beginning, he's like a politician haranguing the comrades. I take it from granted than what he say is true, but it's not about belief, but empathy, the film is not about making Hoffa a good or a bad guy, but letting the viewer figuring out. If he was bad enough (in the "practical" meaning) to stick with the gangsters when he became powerful, it would be interesting to see how he started as an idealistic man, and it would make the corruption of his morality more interesting. That's what great biopics are about: evolutions, and never in "Hoffa", do we feel that the guy is changing, in bad or good, it doesn't matter, but there's no dynamics whatsoever.

And again, it's a pity because the performances are good, I can't believe Nicholson got a Razzie nomination for this, granted it wasn't the best of his career, but he did bring some energy and passion in the character. But what lacked was a structure, a right choice of episodes that would tell us something about a controversial figure. The film is two-hour and fifteen minutes long, I wouldn't have minded it being much longer if it could enlighten me on the private face of Jimmy Hoffa, we're talking about a character played by Nicholson, who's got a great chemistry with his real-life friend Danny DeVito, the film had the potential, the ambition, probably the budget, the writing was good, but the storytelling not so.

Still, for what it is, it's not wasted time, and the film has a solid consistency in it, and at least, it does something that almost redeems the flaws I mentioned: it ends with the best scene, the most memorable one. In terms of shock and emotion, even though we know the story of Jimmy Hoffa, we don't see the ending coming, and it did left me puzzled and shocked when I saw it for the first time. The film needed more moments like this, but all in all, it's a solid drama.

Before I had seen Hoffa I was aware of the Union leader mainly for his disappearance and the jokes made about his last resting spot. My dad had always considered Hoffa a hero simply because he didn't buckle under to the big boys he fought them. Hoffa The movie captures the Essence of James R Hoffa perfectly. This is Nicholson's Finest role forget the Joker in Batman or Jack Torrence in THE SHINING. This is pure acting 100% You cannot tell where Hoffa the part and Nicholson the actor leave off. The movie moves from Flashbacks to Hoffa's last day on Earth and it makes you wonder about What happened to him. During the flashbacks we See Hoffa slowly emerging as a force within the Teamsters Union slowly gathering influence and power from the ranks of the working man. The Film fits the various Eras portrayed perfectly. It's like looking thru a window. The Corruption of Hoffa if you can call it that is slow and gradual and Hoffa's War With Bobby Kennedy is simply fantastic film making Devito didn't want to spoil the scene with words so he used the actual Hoffa Kennedy exchanges word by word word for word. And Nicholson must've studied that footage intently as he captures Hoffa's Every movement and even his eyes down to the rapid movements that Hoffa did. Devito knows his stuff and Proves it here. Great Film that deserves to be remembered as a true original CLASSIC! Just like the original James R. Hoffa a original classic.

A film based on the story of legendary union figure Jimmy Hoffa (played here by Jack Nicholson).

Can I first say this was strange casting for Bobby Kennedy? It just seems like someone doing a very poor Kennedy impersonation, not a serious attempt to really capture him. Which is unfortunate, given how central his role is. (This film, more than anything, seems to be Hoffa versus Kennedy.) The Nicholson casting is not perfect, either, because it is hard to hide his distinctive voice... but I think he pulls it off ,and the makeup helps.

The Hoffa story is a fascinating one, and one that deserves to be explored on film again. This was 1992, and I write this in 2015. In the past two decades, more memoirs have been written, more government documents released... we need another biopic, and maybe a really serious documentary?

Possibly Jack Nicholson was showing up nominated at to many award shows at this time and he was due for a put down.The movie seemed to be overlooked or not reviewed very well at the time of release. I thought his "Hoffa" was a memorable portrayal of a complex and contradictory personality. Having been around during Hoffa's reign as head of the Teamsters, as well as being a Teamster back then myself, Nicholson's potrayal was uncanny in it's grasp of Hoffa's style and personality. Nicholson seemed to get in Hoffa's skin for this role as George C. Scott did for Patton. As a matter of fact I think the analogy is accurate. Both Patton and Hoffa were contoversial, larger the life characters with a lot of flaws and a lot of attributes. Both actors were highly skilled and balanced in their potrayals.

I have no interest in the life of Jimmy Hoffa, and I am predisposed to disliking the man even before the first frame of Hoffa is run. But I do watch, knowing the film is from a very good David Mamet script, knowing that I want to be convinced that Jack Nicholson is one of our great actors, and knowing that Danny DeVito is a very serious filmmaker--that I will see his heart and soul in the film.

I am not disappointed, and I still care, not at all about James Hoffa, the man.

Jack Nicholson is one of our great actors, and regardless of all his extra curricular activities, he is a committed and serious craftsman, and his portrayal of James Hoffa is fine craftsmanship.

The story of Hoffa itself may be the least interesting component of the film. The production design is beautiful-a perfect compliment to the words of Mamet delivered by a painstakingly perfect cast.

Should you have the opportunity to view the deluxe laserdisk with the Danny Devito commentary and extra production materials you will be treated.

Not a film for everyone, but I liked it.