Gotti

Gotti is exceptional piece of film brought to the small screen,the cast is outstanding and nail biting stuff from the start to the very end. armand assante`s performance is so chilling as the dapper don,and it brings so much intensity leaving the audience compelled by this larger than life charismatic figure of the underworld.The dialogue is snappy and the onscreen chemistry between Assante`s portrayal of Gotti and Quinns as Neil dellacross is more than convincing.This film works well because it doesn't rely to much on violence as its predessors did in Goodfellas and others like casino.

Some years ago I was in Canton, Ohio going to my hotel in a cab and when the driver learned I was from New York he asked me kind of hesitantly that being from the Big Apple had I ever run into John Gotti. I learned there and then what an impression Gotti had made with his Dapper Don public persona. So in this film Gotti I can easily understand that brief scene where the couple from Rochester gush over Armand Assante when they meet him in a restaurant. And Assante plays it to the hilt ordering champagne for the couple's table. You would have thought they met Cary Grant.

The made for TV movie Gotti hits all the noted incidents in the Gotti legend. Based in part in the research and writings of Jerry Capeci who used to report on gangland activities in the Daily News the script gives us a three dimensional portrait of Gotti.

It used to fascinate me that when Joey Gallo was killed and later Joe Columbo was shot and lived in a coma for about 7 years it would resonate once and for all that publicity seeking gangsters don't really make out in the end. It makes them a more visible target to shoot at.

I like very much what William Forsythe did with the part of Sammy the Bull Gravano, Gotti's underboss and total opposite of him in personality. Forsythe who was Al Capone in the revived Untouchables series does the gangster persona very well.

In fact this film also boasts the casting of a pair of old Hollywood oldtimers. Marc Lawrence did gangster parts in old Hollywood plays the aging Carlo Gambino and Anthony Quinn who did a few of those parts as well in his varied career plays Gotti patron Neil Dellacroce the Gambino underboss. Quinn has some great scenes with Assante trying to warn him of the error of his ways.

This film should have gotten the theatrical release it was originally intended.

GOTTI is a reasonably fast-paced account of John Gotti's rise to power in the Gambino crime family. I have an interest in Mafioso and I recognize the factual basis of some scenes, allowing for dramatic license. From there I'm willing to assume that the entire movie is based on actual events. Armand Assante is convincing in the role of John, and the supporting cast is noteworthy as well. They are probably a bit more genteel than were the actual mobsters, except perhaps when in the public eye.

The movie's rhythm seems to bog down in a couple of places. It detracts from the general tempo--but patience rewards with good action once again. The violence is not overplayed, in fact it is subdued. Anyone who is aware of the history of real Mafia perpetrators, such as Roy DeMeo, can vouch. Is Mafia life idealized here, thus making it attractive? I guess the viewer has to decide. I have watched it at least ten times and my favorite parts are the Intro and the Castellano hit, but there's more to like in between!

For a TV movie this is very good. Why Mr. Assante doesn't get more good parts is amazing to me. He nails this part and if you have ever read anything about Gotti you have to believe that the two met. The movie has some great scenes. The best are when the mob guys are just hanging around. The creators of "Sopranos" have used this very well because while wiseguys are not always wise they are sure colorful.

Story's the same but the players change. Gangsters battle their way to fortune - and for Gotti, some fame, and ultimately the fortune weakens ties and sows doubt about motives and loyalty. Gotti was a hard-working, charming mobster and his commitment took him to the top of the Gambino crime family but when you get to the top, you have to be the most rational to stay there for a long time. Missteps can easily let in who you thought were your allies and there's a reason people aren't mob bosses long.

The film features great acting by Armando Assante, William Forsythe, and Anthony Quinn as the head of the Gambino family. Quinn owns the scenes he is in. Assante makes the Teflon Don charming but also so vain that little slights set him off. Forsythe is electric and the air of menace around him is practically a character in and of itself.

As always, it takes good writing to bring an exciting story to the screen and so writers Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci, and Steve Shagan deserve credit for showing the excesses of the life of the Teflon Don and for not stinting on the brutality of life as a mafioso. The wealth and power that mob bosses get ultimately does them in as they start to believe their own legends. Mustain, Capeci, and Shagan show the hard work but also the violence that brings them down hard.

Gotti ruled NYC for a while and as a kid at the time I heard his name a lot. This film is a good primer for learning about the life and times of John Gotti.