Having spent 10 years in prison, Capone gets to spend the last year of his life at his mansion, suffering from dementia and visions of a violent past.
A few people asked me to watch it and tell them what I think. Well, here it is…
Four (4) different points need to be looked at rather than overlooked: The most obvious is Tom Hardy, who, no matter who he portrays, portrays them with effortless artistry. So, don’t pick up the stones yet. My next point is the A-list cast, which supports him equally well and poses no threat to the film whatsoever. Then, it’s the makeup. Now, here I can see that you are looking at the stones again. If I had started watching the film ten minutes into it, I would think it was a zombie or vampire Capone. The problem escalates and climaxes with the fourth point, the writing that is all over the place. It seems like it parodies Capone’s end, and I can understand how this can be somehow offensive, even if it’s regarding a criminal like him.
Writer/editor/director Josh Trank thought it would be a good idea to combine approaches taken by David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick and portray the well-known Italian-American as if he’s walking between two worlds. In such light, a major issue becomes the main genre that officially characterises the film and, consequently, the viewers’ expectations. As someone who doesn’t know much about Capone’s last year, I didn’t see it as biographical as I didn’t see any crime either (that one shooting doesn’t count).
Trank was somehow lucky – even though that might be an inaccurate term. If the film had a theatrical release, it would have suffered a similar or worse fate than his last film five years ago. My humble opinion is that he is a great independent director who faces many issues when it comes to collaborating with major studios. Chronicle (2012) is a solid proof of that.
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