The Last Rites of Joe May

I first saw Dennis Farina in the TV series Crime Story in the end of 1980s. And he stuck in my memory as a guy portraying sleazy cops and gangsters. In this sense The Last Rites of Joe May is not far away from that image.

There is one significant difference, however. Although we're still in the shady underworld of low-level criminals, his character glows with genuine repentance. For once in his lifetime, he's trying to make things right, but it seems to be harder than he expects.

There's also another TV darling from 1980s and 1990s in this one, namely Gary Cole. Overall this is a very good movie.

I was pleasantly surprised when I arbitrarily stumbled onto this movie. A talented cast tells an authentic story of the character's personal lives. Though overall a rather sad tale, it did not leave me sorrowful.

(I felt so strongly about this movie, I ventured to write my first ever review)

I have always loved Dennis Farina's work, and I think he is one of our most underrated actors. I was drawn to this movie by the enthusiastic reviews of other Farina fans, and I was enthralled from the very beginning. One of the beauties of the film is its great understatedness. The dialogue plays a minimal part here in portraying where people are coming from; visual portrayal and facial expression are paramount here. Musical background is minimal, and what there is - in the form of Italian opera - is used masterfully. This is a sad but beautiful story of people in extremis, and like so many great stories - both literary and cinematic - it's a story of redemption. It's one of the few films I have seen that can be classified as great tragedies. Having said that, there's no question that the film is bleak and dark. This is the great role that was meant for Dennis Farina, and he hits it out of the park. Ave, atque, vale, Mr. Farina.

From the title and opening scene I was so engaged to see what lay ahead for the main character, Joe May. I also felt several strong and differing emotions and was reminded that this is how film (/art) should make you feel.

Every component that made up this film; acting, soundtrack, setting, cast, etc, seemed to merge together perfectly to make it "real". So real that at least a portion of the characters reminded me of people I've known. In addition, one or two themes really struck home and have me thinking about life a little differently today. I expect everyone will relate/connect to certain aspects of this DON'T MISS film.

Only 8 other reviewers but everyone loved this little movie--kinda has the heart of Rocky1 and all the tragedy of Death of a Salesman (in Chicago vs NYC)--It's like I wish I didn't ever see this movie yet bec I always want the excitement you feel when you discover a gem like this--no scares, no SFX or faux artsy it's time to say Oscar BS---more people need to watch this great little movie