Federal Protection

On paper FEDERAL PROTECTON just seems a workman like revenge thriller where someone turns stool pigeon and the mob have to hunt him down to keep his mouth shut and perhaps if the plot had been structured like this it might have worked slightly better . The problem is the story gets sidelined with a major subplot featuring someone wanting to make a lot of money by knowing where the stoolie is

Perhaps screenwriter Craig Smith can be excused slightly since my gut instinct is that director Anthony Hickox is more to blame for the film's failings . Hickox father Douglas was a director who could his turn his hand to different types of genre in films as diverse as THEATRE OF BLOOD and ZULU DAWN . Anthony is better known for his early horror films and seems slightly out of his depth as to how he should approach the material here . The film has the look of a lightweight 1980s film which seems at odds with the Taratinoesque dialogue though sometimes it delves in to erotic comedy thriller

That said Hickox has done well to cast Dina Meyer as Bootsie Cavander . She smoulders as a femme fatale who recognises a scheme to make money . Unfortunately the film seems to be pulling in different directions because the screenplay doesn't seem to have Bootsie as the main character but Ms Meyer is undoubtedly the best aspect of the film in much the same way as Linda Fiorentino is the best thing about THE LAST SEDUCTION . Perhaps the director should have insisted on a rewrite after the casting had been done ?

Although this movie was not particularily "meaty", I would have to say it was quite entertaining. Firstly, Armand Assante's performance as mafioso can never go wrong. His cocky, charismatic portrayal of an ex-mobster in the witness protection program is definitely alluring.

The redheaded neighbor recognizes and falls for him, you feel happy for her as she's in dead-end marriage, and the chemistry between her and Armand is apparent! (I kept thinking . . . if only that could happen to me).

Like I said, it's not filled with the extreme gritty substance of "Gotti", but it is fun and even has some Pulp-Fiction-like dark-comedic scenes -- that, and Armand's performance along with the sexual chemistry make this - I feel - a very worthwhile watch!

I agree with the above comments. The films made up in the Great White North are an accounting trick, caused by a) the dirt-cheap Canadian dollar, and the availabilty of subsidies -- though this may have changed recently, I'm not sure. For this, what happens is that a producer based in NY or Los Angeles takes a project written with some US locale in mind and either shoots Montreal as "New York" or "Paris". It is neither, though it is a beautiful city in its own right. This way of structuring the Deal puts story, local color, regional accents, all of that way down at the bottom of consideration, when it should be near the top. (That's why a movie -- Woody Allen's Manhattan is just an example -- can evoke a time and place better than any other art form, and why all these transplanted cheapies look like they're shot in Vinyl Palookaville.) Americans and Canadians both deserve a better cinema.

This movie is utter cliché, but also an example how one actor can make it worth watching.

Dina Meyer is completely carrying this movie. Even though she doesn't have leading role her scenes are only advantage of this film. Talented actress and stunning beauty. (man, did she look good in that latex dominatrix costume :) )

Sure Assante was cool as always but his scenes were kind of boring. But when story gave attention to Dina this movie was actually interesting.

Movie is complete no brainier, predictable as it can get, but has some charm and is fun watch if you don't expect too much, and especially if you're Dina Meyer fan!

"Federal Protection", a vanilla middle-of-the-road action/drama with the feel of tv direct production, tells of a swaggering chop shop racketeer (Assante) from Chicago who is ensconced in the federal witness protection program in the burbs of Little Rock, AR where he is too easily recognized by his neighbors one of whom he falls for while the others try to extort money from the mob for giving him up. Obvious, predictable, contrived, and generic with some bloody shootouts, almost no sex, no nudity, and very little chemistry, "FP" is strictly nominal no-brainer entertainment. Keep expectations low and enjoy.