Southie

Let me begin by saying that I have lived in Dorchester and South Boston all of my life, so my opinion may be a bit loaded. Let me also say that I have seen this movie before, 15 different times, all of which with a different title, the first and best version of this story being "Mean Streets" by Martin Scorcese.

The idea of people battling against an urban environment for a better life is hardly anything new to American Cinema. it has been here since the early 70's. It has been done and done again. There are great films built around this theme. Some of which will be very hard to outdo.

What is amazing is that the vast majority of scripts written by young men who grew up in similar surroundings continue to deal with these issues in less resilient and origional ways.

In this film Donnie Wahlberg's 'Danny Quinn' is the ultimate candidate for the phrase, "you can take the boy out of the (insert town here), but you can't take the (insert town here) out of the boy". Arriving home after leaving town for a while Danny is dragged back into the vicious cycle that made him leave in the first place (gee, didn't see that one coming). Try as he might, he can't resist the gravity of his surrounding and is sucked into an blackhole of alcoholism, violence, and abuse. Like I said, nothing original. The film does explore some meaty drama with the Quinn mother played by Anne Meara, then she dies 3/4 of the way though the film, so that's that. The rest of the movie is color by numbers.

I should note that the South Boston presented in this film is nothing like the South Boston of today. Yes, it is a mostly blue collar community, yes, the people there are mostly irish americans, yes it can be a tough place, and yes the people are very parochial (enter "forced bussing" into any search engine). However it is not the type of place where gangsters go around having shotgun fights, it hasn't been remotely like this since the 70's when Whitey Bulger's gang was in its heyday. While all of the negative attributes of the community and its history are examined in "Southie" none of the positive attributes are even touched upon. This does not hold true for the film "Southie" rode into cinemas and film festivals on the laurels of: Good Will Hunting (If ever there was true to life picture of a blue collar boston, this is it).

Take a look at another recent film about a different Boston community, "Monument Ave". Though this movie suffers from the same cliche problems as "Southie", it explores a theme that many of Boston's blue collar residents can identify with. Set in charlestown, a neighborhood which is known for its "code of silence", the characters in this film squirm as they see their once closed off neighborhood become an area of blue chip real estate for young yuppies looking for an upscale urban home. In "Monument Ave." there is a clear juxtaposition between the violent, troubled townies and their new neigbors. This phenomenon holds true for the real South Boston as well, however the film "southie" does not even touch upon it.

In the end it probably does not matter where the setting of the film was. The writers were from boston so they chose southie. It could have been the third moon of Jupiter, but it still wouldn't have made this film any more original, 3/10 stars.

I was completely amazed by Southie. I was expecting a movie where Donnie Wahlberg was the center of attention and the action focused around drawn out, bloody battles. To my surprise it wasn't. The story line was interesting and the cast seemed like they were all meant to be together. If you can get past the "New Kids on the Block" Donnie Wahlberg mentality, Southie is an excellent movie worthy of the award it has won and many more.

... the Southie that tried so hard from the Garrity era on down to portray themselves as Just Another Heart Of Gold (all-white) Community, or the one that really exists?

This isn't a great movie. The production values are spotty, such plot as exists is threadbare, sound fades in and out, and you won't put the tape back in the box having learned much of anything.

But paintings don't tell stories either; they're evocative mood-setting pieces, and so is this movie. Wahlberg doesn't put phony speeches in the characters' mouths, he doesn't have a happy ending, nothing much is resolved, and no one is any less of a mess than at the beginning. He presents you a moving image of a profane, drunken, violent environment that is a side of Southie the residents and the city of Boston would prefer you not see. It's there nonetheless.

6/10.

"Southie" is worth a look. We have seen this movie before, only that now instead of being about Italian-Americans, it depicts Irish-Americans in Boston. As directed by John Shea, it misses the mark, but it shows a director who shows a lot of promise, as we already know him as an excellent film actor.

The film has an improvised look, which might have been the case, but we'll never know. The different Boston heavy accents stand in the way for enjoying it much more, in my humble opinion.

Donnie Wahlberg shows his usual intensity. Rose McGowan, as Kathy, shows she has the potential to do bigger and better things. As the Quinn matriarch, it was a pleasure to see Anne Meara, a wonderful actress and a great human being in real life.

Let's hope Mr. Shea will come out with a better film the next time out.

Not able to shake its Low-Budget roots, this good try, once again, at tough Neighborhood Street Stuff, is a somewhat confusing rival Gang Melodrama with strong Characters in front of a meandering Script.

The confusing Story about the troubled financing of an After Hours Club bogs down this otherwise engaging Movie that, in its sincerity, can't seem to find the right Melody. It has some episodic believability with Family interactions on a personal level.

But the problem here is definition. Aside from the strong elements of interpersonal relationships among Siblings and the Home Unit, this gets lost in the Mob stuff where it is difficult at times to tell who is with who and what all the fuss is about.

Worth a watch for some of its intensity and works best in the more quiet introspective moments, it just meanders and its lack of clarity confuses and can be too heavy, at times, with all the fisticuffs and the pushing and shoving going over the top to the detriment of the Drama.