Wasted Talent

Before watching this documentary if anyone would have asked me who Lillo Brancato is I wouldn't be able to answer. Then again I'm not really good in remembering names, and I'm absolutely not interested in celebrity gossip and sorts. But when I saw his face on the screen I remembered him from A Bronx Tale and The Sopranos. But that's about it, never heared about that story where a cop died, couldn't care less if I have to be honest. That aside, this documentary is mostly about Lillo Brancato, about how he became an actor, how he got into drugs and how that lead to that crime. I'm not going to say that there were no interesting parts in this documentary as there were plenty but hearing Lillo Brancato pretending God saved him and that kind of nonsense just had the opposite effect of what I think of this persona now. First I wished he would start acting again, now I couldn't care less if I saw his religious face again on a big screen. He's clearly a bit mentally ill.

The description of this documentary claims it is examining temptations and struggles of young celebrities on the rise to fame. Um. It focuses on actor Lillo Brancato exclusively. In a nutshell, it mostly focuses on how he got the part in The Bronx Tale, his drug addiction which led to a cop being murdered and how still today New York cops still hate him. Which is fine because it was an interesting story but after watching the one hour and six minute documentary I googled the story and found out he went to prison for 8 1/2 years and I'm not sure they even told us that part. Maybe it was passively mentioned so I didn't even realize it. Even though I found the documentary interesting and I enjoyed watching it I'm still not entirely sure what it's supposed to be about. Kind of jumped all over the place and just gave me bits and pieces of random information.

I wanted to enjoy this but I couldn't sit through it. I found myself losing interest because of the amateurish and poorly edited scenes.

Lillo Brancato is a person whose story I am familiar with, and wanted to know a little better. I'm only a half an hour in and already it's going back and forth in time between the crime, and the story of his early life, and how he got the role in "Bronx Tale". There's an interview with a former correspondent with CNN that was not only poorly placed but went on about 5 minutes too long. Also for some strange reason there's a guy who looks like a male model changing the focus on a still camera crouched behind Lilo the whole way through. Extremely odd choice.. obviously a friend or relative of the cop director; it's very off-putting and for whatever reason they constantly include him in the 2-shot every time they show Brancato being interviewed by the director. It's only 67 minutes, but I'm bailing at 43 now.

Why would this fellow who was warned multiple times, who had the foundation for success in his hands, who listened to two very accomplished actors (yes I mean Mr. Palminteri too not just Mr. De niro) working the entire time with him on the film and this little weasel decides I am going to be a big fat loser who plays with guns and hangs with cop killers and steals someone's stuff for drug money? I can understand why Mr. Palminteri didn't want anything from you, loser. You are a deceitful selfish man and sure you can play the part of a naive young man growing as a person but while you were good onscreen not a damn thing in that movie even what you read in your narration meant anything to you, not one thing. Brother, where is your loyalty?