William Reilly's "Men of Respect," starring John Turturro and the fascinating Katherine Borowitz, is one of the few genuinely innovative gangster films produced in recent years. Chronicling the rise of a very bold, but not very decisive hit man (Turturro, the film's characters are carefully and convincingly delineated, and the frequent scenes of grotesque violence are almost a diversion from the development of the characters themselves. Although Turturro is splendid as the bloodthirsty, but slightly addled killer, the film is stolen by the performance of Ms. Borowitz, who plays his long-suffering, titanium-spined wife. Other characters include the ill-starred mob bosses played by Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, and Rod Steiger. Other scene-stealers include three unforgettable "witches," whom Turturro consults for a glimpse of his future. If this is beginning to sound familar, it should: "Men of Respect" is a very faithful update of "The Tragedy of Macbeth!" A movie to savor, and an actress not to be forgotten.
Reviews
2 Reviews
I Spit on Your Grave
(1978)
Time to reconsider
5 August 2002
When I fist saw this film in 1978, I was astonished and amused at the sheer audacity, the total disregard for conviction, involved in its story and presentation. Since that time, the film has been hated like very few films, primarily by those who assert that it somehow "glorifies rape."
Well, not really. Rape and its aftermath, as presented here, are about as "inglorious" and anaphrodesiac as a colonoscopy. The rapes (40 minutes' worth) are, I assume, horribly realistic; the victim's revenge is not. The very delicate and appealing victim, played by Camille Keaton, stands in sharp contrast to the quasi-human thugs that attack her (and attack her, and attack her). Unfortunately, her "delicate" demeanor begins to ring false when she returns to the scene of the crimes and dispatches her former tormentors by such means as hanging, castration, and pureéing with an outboard motor.
This was an exploitation film, but it was done in so graphic a fashion that it would, if a true story, qualify as a documentary. (For example, the soundtrack uses no music.) It should not be banned or surpressed, but neither should it be mass-distributed. It will not damage viewers who are not unduly sensitive, although it will disgust them; but it could easily provoke thoughts in a troubled mind that are best left alone. By the way, it is not a hard-core porno film: no insertions pictured, etc. But the average filmgoer is likely to feel sullied after seeing it, and no one under 21 should see it at all.
Well, not really. Rape and its aftermath, as presented here, are about as "inglorious" and anaphrodesiac as a colonoscopy. The rapes (40 minutes' worth) are, I assume, horribly realistic; the victim's revenge is not. The very delicate and appealing victim, played by Camille Keaton, stands in sharp contrast to the quasi-human thugs that attack her (and attack her, and attack her). Unfortunately, her "delicate" demeanor begins to ring false when she returns to the scene of the crimes and dispatches her former tormentors by such means as hanging, castration, and pureéing with an outboard motor.
This was an exploitation film, but it was done in so graphic a fashion that it would, if a true story, qualify as a documentary. (For example, the soundtrack uses no music.) It should not be banned or surpressed, but neither should it be mass-distributed. It will not damage viewers who are not unduly sensitive, although it will disgust them; but it could easily provoke thoughts in a troubled mind that are best left alone. By the way, it is not a hard-core porno film: no insertions pictured, etc. But the average filmgoer is likely to feel sullied after seeing it, and no one under 21 should see it at all.
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