Review by udar55

Restaurant owner Sam Paxton (Aidan Quinn) witnesses a mob hit in a crowded bar and is the only one to tell police he saw the killer. The news thrills U. S. Attorney James Falcon (Brian Dennehy), who is looking to use the witness to put away the Irish mob in NYC. However, Paxton soon finds himself up against both the threatening mob and locals that cherish a misguided "don't snitch on your community" ethic. This HBO movie reunites Dennehy with F/X (1986) director Robert Mandel and is quite good in showing the inner workings of both the prosecutor's office and the mob. Quinn is excellent in the lead and Dennehy is also great as the ruthless attorney who will stop at nothing to get his case. Both were nominated for Cable ACE awards. There is a great supporting cast including Stockard Channing as another lawyer (she was nominated for an Emmy for this), Laura Harrington as Paxton's suffering wife, Delroy Lindo as a detective, Ken Pogue as the bar owner, and Colm Meaney and Tobin Bell as a couple of Irish thugs. And, per Hollywood casting rules, since it is technically a mob picture Tony Sirico has a small role too.