Barry Levinson and Warren Beatty's portrayal of the life of a mobster cleans off the blood and concentrates on the cakes
Bugsy (1991)
Director: Barry Levinson
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: D+
Benjamin Siegel – nicknamed, to his anguish, Bugsy – was an American
mobster. He is often remembered for his role in the development of Las
Vegas.
Crime
The film opens with a portrait of Bugsy Siegel (Warren Beatty)'s everyday life. He says goodbye to his family. He does speech exercises. He has sex with a random woman in a hotel. He shoots a wiseguy dead at point-blank range in view of an entire office full of people. It's a fine cinematic start. But Bugsy suffers from a problem that afflicts many gangster movies. We're supposed to like the hero, but he's a violent sociopath. So there is a little light editing. Sure, Siegel does the odd bit of murder and cheats on his wife,...
Bugsy (1991)
Director: Barry Levinson
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: D+
Benjamin Siegel – nicknamed, to his anguish, Bugsy – was an American
mobster. He is often remembered for his role in the development of Las
Vegas.
Crime
The film opens with a portrait of Bugsy Siegel (Warren Beatty)'s everyday life. He says goodbye to his family. He does speech exercises. He has sex with a random woman in a hotel. He shoots a wiseguy dead at point-blank range in view of an entire office full of people. It's a fine cinematic start. But Bugsy suffers from a problem that afflicts many gangster movies. We're supposed to like the hero, but he's a violent sociopath. So there is a little light editing. Sure, Siegel does the odd bit of murder and cheats on his wife,...
- 3/10/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
NEW YORK -- Don't expect ''Billy Bathgate'' to clean up at the boxoffice. This amazing pool of talent somehow fails to live up to our expectations.
Maybe that's part of the problem. With Dustin Hoffman starring, Robert Benton directing and Tom Stoppard adapting, one does expect greatness. Which is why goodness just doesn't cut it.
''Billy Bathgate'' is good, but the feeling that it could have been better makes watching it an unsettling experience. We keep hoping throughout that things will click into place, but it never fully happens. Everything, from the performances to the story line, seems slightly out of step. It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly the problem is, but there's something wrong.
The one constantly right thing in the film, however, is veteran actor Steven Hill's engrossing performance. His is such a solid, quietly powerful presence that we end up wishing he had more screen time.
The casting of Hoffman is a curious coup. Obviously, his star power is a considerable draw. But Dutch Schultz was a big, intimidating man, and although Hoffman acts big, it takes a while before we can comfortably accept him in this role.
As always, Hoffman tries to get into the skin of his character, but this time it's as if we can almost see him doing it. Whether it's the magnitude of his fame, or the inaccessibility of his character, there is a problem.
Yet, at the same time, it is always a pleasure to watch Hoffman perform. His sense of timing never falters, and as he turns Schultz into a humorous enigma, he never steps out of character. His effort is so complete that we wish we could share his conviction, so to speak.
The story takes place in Depression-era New York. Streetwise kid Billy (Loren Dean) sees gang life as his ticket out of obscurity. When Schultz takes a liking to him, it's like a dream come true.
The dream takes on nightmarish qualities as Billy witnesses several killings and the bad side of Mr. Schultz. He also gets to witness Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman) in several degrees of undress, which naturally turns his head and his heart.
After sort of inheriting her from ex-partner Bo Weinberg (Bruce Willis), Dutch carelessly entrusts Drew to Billy, leaving the poor kid with an incredibly tough dilemma: Is she worth dying for? The jury is still out on that one.
The less-than-usual violence is still vividly intense and realistic. It's pretty easy to spot it coming, but Dutch's violent eruptions are startling in their viciousness. Hoffman is most convincing during these moments.
''Billy Bathgate'' is certainly entertaining on several levels, but it never ascends to the level of greatness it seemed destined to reach. Going in with not-so-great expectations is your best bet.
BILLY BATHGATE
Touchstone Pictures
Director Robert Benton
Writer Tom Stoppard
Based upon the book by E.L. Doctorow
Director of photography Nestor Almendros
Editors Alan Heim, Robert Reitano
Music Mark Isham
Color
Cast:
Dutch Schultz Dustin Hoffman
Billy Bathgate Loren Dean
Drew Preston Nicole Kidman
Bo Weinberg Bruce Willis
Otto Berman Steven Hill
Irving Steve Buscemi
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Maybe that's part of the problem. With Dustin Hoffman starring, Robert Benton directing and Tom Stoppard adapting, one does expect greatness. Which is why goodness just doesn't cut it.
''Billy Bathgate'' is good, but the feeling that it could have been better makes watching it an unsettling experience. We keep hoping throughout that things will click into place, but it never fully happens. Everything, from the performances to the story line, seems slightly out of step. It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly the problem is, but there's something wrong.
The one constantly right thing in the film, however, is veteran actor Steven Hill's engrossing performance. His is such a solid, quietly powerful presence that we end up wishing he had more screen time.
The casting of Hoffman is a curious coup. Obviously, his star power is a considerable draw. But Dutch Schultz was a big, intimidating man, and although Hoffman acts big, it takes a while before we can comfortably accept him in this role.
As always, Hoffman tries to get into the skin of his character, but this time it's as if we can almost see him doing it. Whether it's the magnitude of his fame, or the inaccessibility of his character, there is a problem.
Yet, at the same time, it is always a pleasure to watch Hoffman perform. His sense of timing never falters, and as he turns Schultz into a humorous enigma, he never steps out of character. His effort is so complete that we wish we could share his conviction, so to speak.
The story takes place in Depression-era New York. Streetwise kid Billy (Loren Dean) sees gang life as his ticket out of obscurity. When Schultz takes a liking to him, it's like a dream come true.
The dream takes on nightmarish qualities as Billy witnesses several killings and the bad side of Mr. Schultz. He also gets to witness Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman) in several degrees of undress, which naturally turns his head and his heart.
After sort of inheriting her from ex-partner Bo Weinberg (Bruce Willis), Dutch carelessly entrusts Drew to Billy, leaving the poor kid with an incredibly tough dilemma: Is she worth dying for? The jury is still out on that one.
The less-than-usual violence is still vividly intense and realistic. It's pretty easy to spot it coming, but Dutch's violent eruptions are startling in their viciousness. Hoffman is most convincing during these moments.
''Billy Bathgate'' is certainly entertaining on several levels, but it never ascends to the level of greatness it seemed destined to reach. Going in with not-so-great expectations is your best bet.
BILLY BATHGATE
Touchstone Pictures
Director Robert Benton
Writer Tom Stoppard
Based upon the book by E.L. Doctorow
Director of photography Nestor Almendros
Editors Alan Heim, Robert Reitano
Music Mark Isham
Color
Cast:
Dutch Schultz Dustin Hoffman
Billy Bathgate Loren Dean
Drew Preston Nicole Kidman
Bo Weinberg Bruce Willis
Otto Berman Steven Hill
Irving Steve Buscemi
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/28/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.