Charlie Valentine

Before I get started, let's just suffice to say that I loved this movie. I screened it at the AOF Festival in Pasadena 2009 and not only did Jesse Johnson do a great job making a film about a terrifically flawed but outstanding character; he did it in a way that kept the tension, excitement and power of the film moving, moving, moving. Raymond Barry was fascinating to watch as was the rest of the stellar cast, from Keith David to James Russo, Tom Berenger and one of my favorites Steven Bauer. The cast alone is worth the price of admission and if you get the chance to see Maxine Bahns in Conjurer, don't pass it up, she is great. The story follows Charlie on the lamb and in a seemingly desperate attempt to bond with his son in the process, a son who desperately wants to be like his father; or so he thinks. No spoiler here but what happens is fun to watch and a pleasure to see. I know the director and stars usually get all the credit but in this case someone needs to give a little love to the producers who took a chance and gave me one of my best viewing experiences of 2009. Great job guys!

Elderly gangster Charlie Valentine (Raymond J. Barry) wants to slip into retirement, and decides to pull one last con on his longtime boss Rocco (James Russo). Of course everything goes wrong, and Charlie tracks down his estranged son (Michael Weatherly) for safety. Charlie teaches him the tricks of the trade, and Rocco tracks them down.

Director Jesse Johnson impressed me with his previous effort "The Butcher", starring Eric Roberts and Keith David, who returns in Charlie Valentine. His new film has a classic plot that is largely the same as The Butcher, which isn't a bad thing because of how well it's done. Good action, good acting, and a solid plot keep you interested.

Barry is a great lead. He says his lines with his trademark growl and as much as you know his villainy you can't help but support him. Weatherly shows his talent and holds his own with Barry. James Russo and Steven Bauer make up the badguys here and turn in some great performances. Tom Berenger and Keith David aren't in this for more than five minutes each but it's nice for them to throw their names into some smaller work.

Worth a look if you like the genre or the actors. I give it a nine.

Charlie Valentine is a self absorbed and aging gangster, with a wealth of knowledge concerning the lifestyle. He searches out the son he vaguely remembers and takes advantage of the young man's desire for a father and son relationship. Don't get the mistaken idea this is a family melodrama, Charlie Valentine is a gangster film thru and thru.

While big studios put much money, star power, and effort into making standard quality gangster films like Public Enemies and American Gangster, along comes an unassuming writer/director named Jesse Johnson who, with a fraction of the time schedule and budget, makes producing a quality crime film look as easy as a ringin' a bell. Interesting three dimensional characters, solid pacing, smart dialog, skilled cinematography, well staged and believable action, these are just a few of the elements that make this an above average project. These days plenty of films sport an entire cast made up of familiar faces with name recognition, but making proper use of the talent is another matter altogether. No such problem with Charlie Valentine, as it uses it's cast to great effect. Raymond J. Barry as the titular Valentine is excellent and Michael Weatherly compliments him well, meanwhile veteran actors like Steven Bauer, James Russo, Keith David, Vernon Wells, and Tom Berenger, all step up to the plate and deliver the cinematic goods. Is this on par with the best of Scorcese or Bogart? No, though that's a very short list, but Charlie Valentine easily rises above many of it's gangster film contemporaries.

Despite the rating here this one is one more popular original films written and Directed by Jesse V. Johnson. Like many of his works it is a study of a flawed character in a violent world seeking some personal redemption. The film is a little longer than it needs to be. It looks like a Guy Ritchie film at parts. It has its good share of violence and sex. I like the actors and the supporting characters, especially Dominique Vandenberg, who would go on to star in a greta film. The Mercenary. I like Raymond Barry in the lead role; however, I don't like the character and that was toughest part for me. I am aficionado of Johnson's work and you must see this in his Library of films but I like The Butcher better as an older on and I loved The Beautiful Ones. This is good. Johnson is the master of making the most of a conservative budget.

...but the bad is pretty distracting.

Though the cinematography is slick and attractive, the editing is extremely flawed. This leaves the film disjointed and choppy; certain scenes become complete non-sequiturs, some of the action gets muddy, and jump cuts occasionally get ahead of themselves. Another round in the editing room could seriously improve the storytelling, because the right elements for an extremely compelling and rewarding character drama are there, they're just poorly communicated. The structure of something great is present, but it isn't filled out.

My second biggest problem was Raymond J. Barry. He was dull and often awkward as the eponymous gangster, there's only the occasional flash of the charisma and appeal his character is supposed to have. He delivers almost all his dialogue in an unsteady, disinterested mumble, and gritty realism may be unintelligible, but realism of that kind certainly puts a damper on the plot and characterisation. The other actors were uniformly excellent, especially Michael Weatherly who shone brilliantly in the last quarter of the film, though none of them have quite as much to do as they should. Danny and Charlie's Parole Officer both needed more development as individuals and a little more background would have helped the father/son relationship a lot.

Give me a reason why Danny admires Charlie so much and I would have been more willing to go along for the ride with them. Their reunion and Charlie's allure and charm as a successful gangster was rushed past and barely present, respectively. Danny's first defining character trait is uneasiness with authority and a fervent desire to remain out of prison. Why does he then turn around and become a disciple of his father without any kind of intermediate process of rationalisation? Yes, he wants to hold on to his father at any cost, but where is the indecision and what about Charlie's behaviour resolves him? As it was, his hero worship and abandonment issues must be extrapolated and his anger with his father is more prominent than the idealisation that makes him want to follow in the old man's footsteps. I know where the story is coming from, because it is such a classic story, but I would have preferred to actually see it on the screen instead of inferring it.

Basically, a clearer emotional progression was needed for Danny and frankly, I didn't find Charlie likable enough for his place in the story to function. He's despicable, but he should be charmingly despicable and I was not convinced he was charming.