L'homme sans pitié

How to rise in the Mafia ... still being moral and all about it. As with many tales this begins later and goes back to show us how our main character became the person he ... became eventually. There is violence, there is nudity, there is obviously also crime.

Very well played and confident in it's structure and timeline this is an entertaining enough watch, even though you could not compare it to the greats in the genre. But that doesn't mean you should knock it down.

Is it obvious that this is a formulaic gangster movie? One reviewer notes "la frase dice tutto" (the phrase says it all). It has all the ingredients of this genre, and the viewer might be wondering whether there's something different about it that sets it apart from the usual fare.

Well, there are several positive points.

First, the acting of Riccardo Scamarcio (as Santo Russo) is convincing which prods the viewer to see where the ruthless story goes. Second, the story explores different angles and plot lines that add texture to the storytelling. And, third, a pinch of dark humor in the right places. All these elements work together to produce an entertaining watch.

Started out very good, ended very boring. I lost track of what was going on. the writing was no so good, in my opinion. Good had been much better but it wasn't.

The story starts interesting, great shots and has a nice Italian feeling. Especially all the typical Italian cars look great! But the movie seems way longer than 90 minutes, the second half kind of drags. The storytelling does not really explain the choices that are made by the main characters. Stuff happens, but the reasons behind it are not so well explored. The story lost my attention to some degree. Cinematography is great, the 80's vibe is present, but overall I was not completely satisfied. I hoped for more...

Very very nice gangster movie played in Milan in the 70s. Scamarcio is the best for this role.