The Funeral

All of director Abel Ferrara's movies are deeply flawed, but he is willing to take you into darker places than almost any contemporary filmmaker. His best movies are the bleakest kind of cinematic art, and The Funeral is one of the best.

To complain about the lack of action in this gangster movie is to miss the entire point. This is a character study of people who have made choices in their lives that have left them without hope, in much the same way as Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant". Although it is often pretentious and a little boring, it also contains many potent, unforgettable scenes, most notably those featuring Chris Penn, who I frankly didn't think could act until I saw this movie.

"The Funeral" is an unremittingly dark film that at times achieves a terrible beauty. I'm not sure that I would recommend it, but I am extremely glad to have seen it.

Abel Ferrara is one of the most original and interesting directors in America movies. He is also one of the most uneven. The guy has made some garbage and some near masterpieces in his time, so you really have to judge each one of his movies on an individual basis. 'The Funeral' is an excellent movie, easily Ferrara's most overlooked effort, and one which doesn't deserve the obscurity it's been doomed to. It's almost as impressive as 'Bad Lieutenant' and 'The King Of New York', yet I very rarely hear it even mentioned. I really don't know why! The movie has one major stumbling block that the viewer must accept before they can begin to get on with watching. That is the casting of Christopher Walken ('The Dead Zone'), Chris Penn ('Reservoir Dogs') and Vincent Gallo ('Buffalo '66'). Three great actors sure, but playing blood brothers?! Also we see that the youngest brother Johnny (Gallo) is supposedly 22(!), and via flashback his two older siblings look only three, maybe four years older. This would make Ray (Walken) in his late twenties, which is absolutely ludicrous. However, if you can put this all to one side and not let it worry you then you will be pleasantly surprised. Some viewers complain that the movie is "slow", "boring" and that "nothing happens". I totally disagree. Of course if you think it's going to be a Mafia thriller or some kind of action movie you will be disappointed. But I thought it was fascinating and very involving. Walken is excellent as usual, Gallo doesn't have an awful lot of screen time but shows why he is one of the most charismatic and exciting actors around, and Chris Penn gives the best performance of his career. Penn alone is worth watching the movie for, he is just so damn good. The supporting cast is one of the best you'll see anywhere. The brother's women are played by Annabella Sciorra ('Cop Land'), Gretchen Moll ('Rounders') and Isabella Rossellini ('Blue Velvet'), and other familiar faces include the wonderful Benicio Del Toro ('The Usual Suspects'), The Sopranos' John Ventimiglia and (very briefly!) Edie Falco, and Ferrara regulars Victor Argo ('Taxi Driver') and Paul Hipp ('Teenage Caveman'). Also keep an eye out for David Patrick Kelly ('The Crow') as a left wing agitator. Every time I watch 'The Funeral' I appreciate it a little more. It's a very subtle and intelligent film that doesn't serve things up to you on a plate. I think it's one of the most underrated movies of the last ten years and I wholeheartedly recommend it. If this is your first experience of Abel Ferrara and you enjoy it, I suggest the moody 'The King Of New York' (also with Christopher Walken) next, then his powerful 'Bad Lieutenant' (Harvey Keitel) and his difficult but rewarding 'The Addiction' (Walken again). Those four movies are his best to date, and not to be missed.

Though he was the director of that awful thriller, 'Fear City,' Abel Ferrer offers a movie about mobsters that distinguishes it from a decade of far too many mobster-themed movies in that it does not glorify mob life. Though slow in the introduction and sometimes confusing in structure, 'The Funeral' offers good acting and an intelligent plot.

Ray (Christopher Walken), Chez (Chris Penn), and Johnny (Vincent Gallo) are brothers and members of the same crime family. I suspect that of the small crime unit, the eldest, Ray, is the leader. The film is centered around the funeral of the youngest, Johnny, who was mysteriously shot to death. And the mobsters, especially his brothers, want revenge.

Johnny was an unusual part of such a violent family, too intelligent and often passive. He seemed to be drifting from his destined life of crime, handed down to him from his father to his brothers to him. It is not the role he seeks to fulfill, and it one he often questions, much to the resentment of his brothers, Ray and Chez.

Ray is a much different character than Johnny. As the oldest, he was the first to kill a man when his father offered him a gun to shoot someone he didn't even know. Ray also absconds from any responsibility for what he does, consistenly justifying his actions as something that God forces him to do. Jean (Annabella Sciorra), his wife, asks whether he thinks it is suitable to blame God for his actions. He apparently blinds himself to any reality, and basks in the idea that he is only carrying out someone else's plan. That this is what he has to do. Jean even remarks to Johnny's wife, Helen (Gretchen Mol), that Ray and Chez and everyone else involved just keep perpetrating this one-sided, illiterate way of life.

Chez is yet another counterweight caught in the middle. He is a very sadistic character and one who soon realizes what damage is being done. With Johnny dead and Ray eager for revenge, it is up to him to determine with the cycle continues.

The nature of these characters are particularly interesting in a story that points out the realities of mafia life (for both the mobsters and their wives) as violence begets violence, making for a very intriguing story. Director Abel Ferrer did a good job with this movie. Despite being slow and sometime scattered in focus, it is worth watching.

Once again Ferrara attracts big star names to a small picture with large ambitions. This film would have made a great gangster saga but Ferrara and writer St. John are more interested about the characters than the story. What occurs on the surface may be minimal and very uncreative but deep within you enter the souls of each character who question their values as they mourn the death of a family member. Each one carrying a dilemma to the very surprising ending. This film could have been set in any era as it deals with intelligent issues such as the complex male macho image as questioned by Sciorra's character.

The Funeral is a dark and gritty story that plumbs the characters in a New York band of criminal brothers. It doesn't have the romantic sweep of a Godfather movie, nor the rawness of Scarface. But it does have great acting: the cold, sinister aloofness of the leader-brother(Christopher Walken); the raging insanity of the bartender-brother(Chris Penn); and, the cockiness of the younger communist-influenced brother. Annabella Scioria as the wife with a tortured psyche who "had two years of college", and Bennissio del Toro, as the suave and slick rival mobster round out the terrific cast.

But the movie does have some problems. The abrupt, "surprise" ending is consistent with the arcs in the movie, and is supported by trends in the characters' developments, but seems unsatisfying. Also, long philosophical conversations between killer and victims seems unrealistic. While these conversations(and flashback sequences) give insight into characters, it just doesn't seem likely.

Watch this movie if you are a fan of crime/Mafia films, and you can enjoy a thoughtful introspection of characters and relationships between characters. Don't watch it if you want to see a "thrill-a-minute", or explosions every other scene.