Morte a Sangue Frio

This is the movie that brings you into the world of the ordinary hit man, well not the machine gun tottling Mafioso gunmen we're so used to watching in the big gangster movies. But the ordinary hit man who does his job as a necessary means to a living. The job is fine but there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The art of doing well is to kill with nonchalance. It is a hazardous occupation -- you go on as long as you can but don't know if you'll be a target yourself one day. There are no fancy trenchcoats or big cigars. The hit men work as used car salesmen, wipe windows in the lot when free and pay for their own movie tickets. They supply their income by knocking off their assigned victims. A respectable year for Tom means usually getting about two to three contracts done. Need to dismember the body after a murder? They go for a cheap K-mart chainsaw instead of the more renowned Black and Decker brand, and get frustrated when they find that it doesn't work at first try. Young Jerry (Sam Rockwell) learns the ropes from Tom (Joe Mantegna) and witnesses his first murder in the front seat of a car. Jerry's induction is every bit as abhorrent as one would normally react to seeing a man killed. But he learns to like what he does and becomes as cold and merciless as his mentor is. In fact Jerry gets to be as ruthless as Tom, to the point that he even takes sadistic pleasure when whacking off his victims. Tom's professional detachment is his strength and hallmark. But this trait unfortunately is never learnt by his protégé and the latter's intractability proves to be his undoing. Apart from a very entertaining script, what makes the movie an excellent watch is the top-notch performances from the cast, especially Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, Maury Chaykin and Charles Durning. And of course the wonderful cameos by William Macy and Ted Danson. The brutality of the killings is shocking but any darkness in the movie is balanced by the humorous edge throughout. This is about ordinary hit men getting their contracts done. There are no recriminations and regrets. The movie starts and ends on a sardonic note, the very tone that first-time director Saul Rubinek wanted to create. I'm sure if this was a bigger name director with a bigger budget JERRY AND TOM would have been a screamer at the box office. This was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed and it comes highly recommended. Ten out of 10 from me.

A tedious, dialogue-intensive story about the vicissitudes of a mentor/protege hitman team, "Jerry & Tom" is a study in understatement with a pointless plot and an ending which may make you want to "whack" yourself for having watched the whole thing.

Tom (Mantega) and Jerry (Chaykin) are experienced hit men waiting in a bar for a phone call to do their next job who currently is tied up before them. We then jump back 10 years to find a much younger Jerry and Tom, and we trace their development throughout the years.

And that's the plot. There isn't a huge amount of plot here but plenty of story if you appreciate the difference. The story follows Jerry from a car salesman who gets accidentally involved in his first hit, through the years as he develops more and more of a taste for the killing, while Tom is heading the other way as the more mature hit man who is losing his taste for the whole thing. However the thin plot is greatly enriched by making the characters the story.

Of the two leads Jerry is the most interesting to watch as he changes the most notably over the film, but Mantegna's Tom is as good as a more stable foil for Jerry. The strength is in the wealth of wonderful characters that surround them. The various victims all have their amusing quirks and are well played by good actors (William H Macy, Ted Danson, Peter Riegert), while other supporting roles such as Vic and Billy (Durning and Chaykin) are great.

The whole story is bristling with comedy and style. The stories the characters tell and the things they say are brilliant, including flashback stories of Elvis, JFK and others are really funny, while other conversations (such as who play them in a movie - "Don Knotts!") are inspired in their hilarity but also their normality.

The director Saul Rubinek is very clever in his direction. We skip through time to other stories using editing that gently glides one scene into another - it's really effective and always clever. In fact he brings clever touches to all the film. Even the closing credit sequences have a wonderful old-fashioned feel to them as each character appears onscreen to wave to the audience - it's also a bit surreal given what we've just watched. I also admire the way that very little violence is show on screen - because that's not what this is about. The killing is often hinted at rather than shown and this allows us to focus on the stories and the comedy rather than the moral difficulty behind what you're seeing.

The film is funny throughout but it does have it's thoughtful moments and the conclusion is actually quite moving. The only faults with this is that the hit man genre is not exactly new ground and this type of story has been done before. Also some may find the lack of plot to be frustrating or boring and find themselves unable to enjoy the stories within.

Overall though, this is a light little gem that draws it's comedy from the stories and the characters within the film. This is filled with clever and funny touches from the opening bar scene right down to the old-fashioned credit scene and Danson's accreditation as "man who loved Vicki".

Though forgettable in the long run, while it lasts "Jerry and Tom" is very enjoyable. Never has a movie about two ruthless hitmen had less on screen violence. Neither has brutal killing has ever been executed with such taste. While the humor is decidedly black, it's not morbid. There are many funny moments, but the overall effect is somewhat slight.

What makes it work is the Joe Mantegna/Sam Rockwell duo. They are both fine team players, especially when paired up with an unlikely other half. Rockwell has in the past partnered a variety of characters from uptight John Turturro in "Box of Moonlight" to precocious child Micha Barton in "Lawn Dogs" and always with much subtle off beat humor.

Mantegna is basically a one role actor. It's a turn he does extremely well, but we have seen it all before. Still, watching these two in "Jerry and Tom" is great fun and there's good support from Charles Durning, Ted Danson and Maury Chaykin.

There is a nice sense of whackiness about it all, not only in the dialog and characterization but also in the strange and unique manner in which some of the scenes smoothly segue into each other with unexpected camera moves.

This is part of my Scarecrow Video Guide inspired movie-trek, following "Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis".

"Jerry & Tom" is a fun little black comedy, but it reminded me a little too much of another fun little black comedy..."Coldblooded", starring Jason Priestly & Peter Riegert. (Oddly, Riegert shows up here in a similar role. And, as of now, both films have a 6.7 on IMDb.). I'm not sure which one is lesser known, but they both have something to offer.

"Jerry & Tom" is the "better" film, if only by virtue of the performances. Joe Mantegna is always good, and Sam Rockwell can't lose, IMHO. But nothing much happens here. "Coldblooded" was more fun, as I recall. (It's been at least 7 years since I saw it.) I could tell 10 minutes in that "Jerry & Tom" was based on a play. It's basically a series of conversations, some brilliantly funny, centered around a group of hit men. It would be a great play, but as a film it's a little lacking. There's an amazing series of creative transitions to show time passages (the story takes place over 10 years), and some hilarious flashbacks. But the scenes in between are incredibly slow.

Still, it's hard to fault a film with great actors reading great lines. Aside from Mantegna and Rockwell, Charles Durning is predictably excellent, and William H. Macy shines in a brief role.

Perhaps these two films would make a good double feature. Watch "Jerry & Tom" first and savor it, then have a few drinks and enjoy "Coldblooded".

Next on the trek- "Forbidden Zone"!