By the Gun

I won't say this film is a pure masterpiece but it is definitely a good film noir. I admit it is slow, sometimes a little too long on some scenes, such as this one in the warehouse and borrowed from RESERVOIR DOGS, with a little too much talking. But the story, even foreseeable and cliché on some points, reminds me Phil Joanou's STATE OF GRACE, remember, starring Sean Penn, another film noir involving friends, brother and the gang, where Ed Harris could be imagined in the Harvey Keitel role. Yes, I definitely love this little unknown, at least, not known enough, feature very dark, gloomy and not for all audiences. I have seen many of this kind and have hundreds of those in my huge Library. I will never get tired of that. Never, over my dead body.

As written by Emilio Mauro and directed by James Mottern BY THE GUN is another Boston Mafia flick, but this one is a bit more sensitive to character development and conflicts of the gang world than most. Perhaps most of that is due to Ben Barnes very exceptional portrayal of the lead character, but kudos must be passed around to a supporting cast that is less concerned with star turns then depicting the miasma of Mafioso life, perhaps the most dysfunctional concept of 'family' ever created.

Nick Tortano (Ben Barnes) is a smooth-talking, ladies man, ambitious criminal from the streets of Boston. After years spent working for and idolizing the Italian gangsters he finally proves himself to the boss Salvatore Vitaglia (Harvey Keitel) and becomes a made man. However, once inside, Nick conflicts with a moneymaker for the Mafia and begins to drive a wedge between him and Boss. In the sidebars, Nick's 'driver' is the fat but fearless George Mullins (Slaine) who makes Nick's initial difficult kill for him, Nick's real father (Paul Ben- Victor) and younger brother Vito (an impressive turn for Kenny Wormald), a love affair with Ali Matazano (Leighton Meester), and various conflicts with Salvatore's enemies. There are some fine minor character roles by Toby Jones, Ron Komora, Tully Banta-Cain, William Bloomfield, Richie Coaster and others, but basically this is Ben Barnes film –a confused young man who makes some wrong choices but does so in a manner that keeps our compassion.

Not a great film, nor does it pretend to be, but for a small Indie look at the autopsy of the Boston Mafia it fares well.

Here is the thing, mafia films are more or less dead. This film had a good storyline, locations used gave the film a very convincing feel. You had a mix of very well known names and known names. The rhythm of the film was good as well. It had all the right ingredients for a excellent film. But unfortunately whoever wrote the dialogues and casted people surely didn't consult each other. Most of the very intense moments of the film had long dialogues and the characters playing the roles could not bring any intensity to the situation. And once again a good at heart stuck in the criminal world is not really ideal either. All the old mafia films were good because they went all the way good at heart or not. They generated that feel and compassion that they want to a part of mafia. This is a mafia chick flick at the best. Anyways with some shorter dialogue in hyped up scenes would have done the justice to the talent in the film. Or a better cast with the same dialogues and a bit bold director, who wasn't scared of leaving the good guy routine behind, could have made this film work.

Just my opinion.

Usually I root for the lead in a film. In this case I just couldn't. I fully understand now why the lead character Ben Barnes distanced himself from the film after it's release. He was made to look like a wanna be punk gangster aka WANKSTER. I refused to garner any sympathy for his situation, simply because the acting didn't get me there. I was more rooting for his best friend Slaine and he was a complete reprobate. I have to say it did live up to the expectations of they typical mob movie with the strip clubs, test of loyalty and revenge tactics. The alienation of at least 1 parent and a sibling torn between the 2. However, with the exception of Keitel, Coaster and Slaine the acting was pretty disappointing. Not sorry I watched but was predictable through and through.

Watched this last night, hoping to see something along the lines of, well, good acting. I was bitterly disappointed. To call the lead wooden, would be an insult to trees. Awful script. Awful direction. Awful acting. Awful..........just awful. Harvey Keitel does his best, but he must have known this was going to be a Krimbo turkey from day one. Painful to watch, and I can only hope whoever cast this recovers quickly.Low budget boredom from start to finish, with unbelievable dialogue. Wrong Turn at Tahoe, makes this film look like what it is, a cheap, no thrills D movie.I implore you, gentle film viewer, to give this one a wide, wide berth. To sum up, do not waste your precious time!