Boardwalk

Well paced and well acted story of old couple living in Coney Island in a decaying neighborhood with hoodlums. A portrait of NYC in the 1970s. Also very heavy on Jewish content, this movie would be worth of inclusion in a Jewish film festival. A surprise! Worth a watch, especially if you like the gritty 70s feel.

The first, last, and only time that I ever saw "Boardwalk" was on cable back in 1990 when I was staying in a hotel in Santa Monica, California, looking for a new place to live after I had received my transfer orders from my employer to relocate from New York City to California. I was able to relate to this movie, because I had gone through some of the horrendous experiences during the 4 years I had lived in New York City that the elderly people did in this movie. What was so noteworthy about this film is that it did not sensationalize on urban violence the way that other movies set in the Big Apple had done in recent years. It told the God's honest truth about living in a neighborhood in New York City that once was nice and was now gradually going to Hell in a handbag; as in here is New York, either take it or leave it and leave New York. In watching this movie, I found it admirable that no matter how rough things got, Lee Strasberg and Ruth Gordon stood up to the local thugs and refused to leave their Brooklyn neighborhood and everything else that they had worked so hard for behind. I also liked seeing Ruth Gordon play a good person for a change after having seen her play a creepy, sinister role in "Rosemary's Baby" back in 1968. I was a naive Southern boy from Virginia when I moved to New York City back in 1986, only 7 years after this movie was released, and I never realized back then how much of a shock I was in for. Therefore, I would recommend anyone who is contemplating moving to New York City and has never lived in a big city before to see this movie. Don't get me wrong. New York City had its rewarding moments for me when I lived there, but I wish I had been a lot more streetwise than I was before I moved there. People who think that New York City is this flashy, exciting place where one finds overnight success and grandeur to the extent that they wish to move there will have a much different outlook on it once they have seen this movie. By no standards was this movie politically incorrect about minorities. In fact, there was even a scene in it in which Lee Strasberg defends an African-American married couple next door against his daughter's racist remarks, because even though this married couple had recently moved from the ghetto into Lee Strasberg's neighborhood, they had already showed themselves to be decent, honest, law-abiding citizens who were willing to play by the rules to better themselves socially and economically. They even go as far as providing first aid to Lee Strasberg after he gets into a violent confrontation with local thugs who are terrorizing the community. This movie is a must-see.

The acting was great, one of the best films I've seen, and a true emotional roller coaster of a ride...a neat little twist at the end. The film can be very shocking in places, but what's so good is that it contains no special effects, just purely great acting and direction.

Vigilante thriller its not, like the synopsis reads and the front of the video case might suggest with the imagery… though the scene does occur. "Boardwalk" is a well-intended (despite the racial flare and direct moralizing) and at times moving feature thanks hugely by the exceptional performances of seasoned actors Lee Strasberg and Ruth Gordon. The two were simply charming whenever together. Watching the once happy elderly couple, now battling family issues/ health problems (which is the main drama driving the story where there are numerously scattered human interest subplots), but also the changing neighbourhood of Coney Island as young jive talking hoons run wild (which populates mainly the beginning and ending but still feels secondary) is engagingly passionate in its ups and downs. The heartache only grows, where it comes away with a swelteringly damaging climax and the closing shot is particularly haunting in its forced predicament. The suspense is only minor, but it's always compelling. The evocative script is thoughtfully laid out in its exploration of the effects / shake down these central characters find themselves in, as they're stripped to the bone and demoralized, living in a community filled with fear, but still they won't back down and succumb to the turmoil (be it the gangs or their dwindling business). Its love, survival and violence rolled into one. Amongst the sombre air, is still quite a sunny vibe of hope led by the acting. In support roles are agreeable turns by Janet Leigh, Joe Silver, Eddie Barth, Merwin Goldsmith and Kim Delgado. The authentic location work helps cement a realistic edge, while the pacing is rather measured and rather low-scale in its escalating confrontations and violence (which is tamely staged, but gut wrenching since you're thrown right into the acts).

Lee Strasberg and Ruth Gordon shine as an elderly, long-married Coney Island couple who live in a neighbourhood that has seen better days. Together they must deal with the changing times - his cafeteria is not doing so well these days, an arrogant gang rules the day on the nearby boardwalk, etc. Their daughter (Janet Leigh) has her own problems dealing with a son (Michael Ayr) whose career as a recording artist is just taking off.

"Boardwalk" is a nice little slice of life / character study / human interest drama that is not always compelling. Some of the supporting characters are just NOT as likeable or as engaging as the couple at the centre of our story, and the film is never very interesting when it doesn't focus on them. Yes, some people could argue that the film gets a little too ugly at the end, but the subplot with the gang had to be resolved *somehow*. Ultimately, this does feel rather manipulative at times; for example, there's a point where director Stephen Verona could just let Gordons' performance carry the scene, but it's accompanied by melodramatic music on the soundtrack.

Strasberg and Gordon are the main reason(s) to watch: their believability as a loving twosome, their banter (they actually peruse a copy of Playboy together in bed), their struggles to deal with developments in their lives. "Boardwalk" does have some poignancy when it illustrates his life as a Jewish immigrant in America. Strasberg is also free from any sort of prejudice, and is taken aback by Leighs' reaction to a black couple who move in next door. There's a solid supporting cast (Joe Silver, Eddie Barth, Merwin Goldsmith, Eli Mintz, Lillian Roth, Kim Delgado as the repulsive main baddy, Linda Manz, Antonia Rey, Sammy Cahn, Altovise Davis, Lloyd Hollar). And that looks like Steve James as one of the moving men late in the picture.

Overall, a respectable if not entirely successful independently made drama, certain to push peoples' buttons frequently (that gang couldn't be more despicable if they tried).

Seven out of 10.