Lansky

The Lansky story was actually an interesting one, and I didn't really mind the reporter interview style of storytelling, but was told by writers Robert Rockaway and Eytan Rockaway in a very underwhelming and cliched way. Don't go into this expecting a Scorsese production, as this is far from it.

Eytan's directing was decent, but the pacing was slow, and there were way too many elements in the Lansky story to squeeze into two hours. An example: Lansky's Jewish background and his conflict with the American Nazi's just didn't need to be so highlighted. It lacked real depth, and felt more like a bad documentary, than a good movie.

Worth watching for Harvey Keitels bravura performance as the aging Meyer Lansky . Apart from that it's a 4 . The ACADEMY surely must recognise his performance ranging from affable old man to cold blooded killer with the eyes of a shark .

Meyer Lansky was a Jewish immigrant who had an affinity for numbers, and his "business sense" eventually made him one of the most successful crime bosses. The story in this movie focuses on 1981, Lansky was to die in 1983 of lung cancer. But an author, money short, meets with him to gather information to write a book of his life. One provision, what Lansky tells him must remain confidential until Lansky's death, otherwise he wouldn't like the consequences.

Much of the movie is told in flashback form, with a heavy focus on the late 1930s and the 1940s. Harvey Keitel does a remarkably good job as Lansky.

Good movie, gives us a glimpse of the golden days of organized crime during the period that Las Vegas and gambling became big business. My wife skipped, not her kind of movie. I watched it on DVD from my public library.

Harvey Keitel is looking all of his 82 years and more but one thing is for sure , his acting hasn't diminished one little bit , which is a good thing for this film because if it wasn't for him , this would have been dull as dish water .

When the aging Meyer Lansky is investigated by the Feds, who suspect he has stashed away millions of dollars over half a century, the retired gangster reveals the untold truth about his life as the boss of the National Crime Syndicate.

I love a gangster film but they have to have something a little different about them for me to really enjoy them . This does and doesn't.

The scenes with Keitel and to a certain extent Sam Worthington are really watchable ( even though there are too many words of wisdom ) but the problem is , because Lansky is telling his life story to David Stone , the film is interspersed with flashback scenes of when he was a young man and to be brutally honest they aren't any good . The Director makes the mistake of doing the gangster scenes like painting by numbers . Every cliche in book is used and it's just dull .

Thankfully Harvey Keitel turns a sows ear into a silk purse and makes the film enjoyable although I couldn't stop looking at the prosthetic nose they gave him which was very distracting.

To confuse people for some weird reason the the movie company changed the name from lansky to A Righteous man - a much duller title . Why do they do things like that ?

It's a very so-so movie, but Harvey Keitel makes it completely worth watching. His demeanor toward the young writer reminded me of some of my own mentors. Not that they were gangsters. Just something in his voice and delivery. Don't you love it when people are really, really good at their jobs?