Palookaville
Time Out says
Russ, Sid and Jerry are at wit's end: they're broke, unemployed, and prepared to turn a blind eye to legal niceties. Yet burglary may not be for them. They over-shoot the local jewellery store and break into the pastry shop next door - a sticky situation, especially for Russ, whose brother-in-law's a cop. An armoured car robbery suggests itself, if only they can work up the necessary gumption, but these guys may be too good to be bad - or just too bad at being bad. A gentle comic fable, this follows the trials of three not-so wiseguys and finds them fundamentally innocent. It's hardly an original idea - that criminal negligence can be funny - but Taylor, his screenwriter David Epstein and a winning cast headed by Gallo (Russ), Trese (Jerry) and Forsythe (Sid) find a fresh angle on it, fruitfully exploiting the discrepancy between a macho gun culture and the impotence of these men's lives. The film makes time for a handful of delicious, delicately observed comic digressions; and Taylor captures an eloquent slice of New Jersey lowlife: Springsteen with laughs. All very nice. But Gallo's charged, explosive presence spikes the punch - he gives the whimsy some kick.
Details
Release details
Duration:
92 mins
Cast and crew
Director:
Alan Taylor
Screenwriter:
David Epstein
Cast:
William Forsythe
Vincent Gallo
Adam Trese
Gareth Williams
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Bridgit Ryan
Kim Dickens
Frances McDormand
Vincent Gallo
Adam Trese
Gareth Williams
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Bridgit Ryan
Kim Dickens
Frances McDormand