Admittedly,
much about what I enjoyed about the movie was the setting. The story takes
place in the late forties and is based on the fight the police put up in order
to keep gangsters (specifically Mickey Cohen) out of Los
Angeles.
Aside from
the music and costume of the era, the general feel of the film was old
fashioned. My brother introduced me to gangster movies at an early age and this
movie had some of the same elements of those films.
Josh
Brolin, the lead, was the perfect, square jawed hero of many a black and white
film and Emma Stone was the consummate femme
fatale. My favorite, however, was the good guy/bad guy character portrayed
by Ryan Gosling. He calls to mind the pretty boy/gruff charm of Bill Holden as
well as the dark, bad guy seductiveness of
Robert Mitchum. A dangerous and appealing combination for most women.
Some
reviewers balked at the gratuitous violence of the film but hasn’t that been
the nature of all gangster films throughout the years?
I’ve listed
what are believed to be some of the best gangster movies of all time along with
some of my own personal favorites (ie. Roaring
Twenties is not usually on anyone’s list but is a favorite of mine).
PUBLIC ENEMY – 1931 (the first of 3 James Cagney movies I’ve
listed)
LITTLE CAESAR – 1931 (Edward G. Robinson’s breakout role)
ROARING TWENTIES – 1939 (when Cagney begs Humphrey Bogart not to
shoot a young soldier, telling him "the kid’s only about 16" Bogart replies, "well,
he ain’t gonna live to see 17", then he shoots him.)
WHITE HEAT – 1949 (another Cagney classic)
THE GODFATHER - 1972 – (probably considered the best
gangster movie ever, though I think II is arguably somewhat better than the
first – don’t bother with III).
SCARFACE – 1983 (put this one on the list because my husband
loved it; way, way too violent for my taste)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
– 1984 (classic epic starring Robert Di Niro)
THE UNTOUCHABLES – 1987 (Kevin Costner played a great Eliot Ness
as a foil to Di Niro’s Capone in this De Palma film )
GOODFELLAS – 1990 – (One of my favorites. Memorable for
Ray Liotta’s portrayal of Henry Hill, as well as Joe Pesci’s portrayal of the perfect sociopath "you
laughin’ at me?")
DONNIE BRASCO – 1997 – (great performance by Johnny Depp)
THE DEPARTED – 2006 – (wonderful Scorsese ensemble including
Leonardo DeCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon)
(Honorable mention: Road
to Perdition, Casino, Millers’ Crossing, Mean Streets, Carlito’s
Way, Pulp Fiction, Bugsy)
Thanks for reading Rhodes Less Traveled, Vivian
