I just watched this movie on a long airplane flight, where I was desperate for entertainment, so my standards were pretty low. But even still, I have to agree with most reviewers that this movie was a mess. I call this "the kitchen sink" style of storytelling. (ie, throw in everything but the kitchen sink). Subplot was piled on after subplot, as if the filmmakers had no confidence in any of the story lines so just kept adding more. I was constantly confused as to whether I was supposed to be watching a family melodrama, revenge action film, weeper about cancer and Alzheimer's disease etc. The generic title "Crime Story" didn't help either.
Probably the biggest liability was that Dreyfuss, an actor I've always liked, was just totally unconvincing as an aging one-time crime boss. He never gives you the sense that he could've once been a menacing and powerful crime figure, even when younger. And as an old man, he comes across as more of cuddly grandfather type, and the scenes where he physically overcomes much younger men are a bit ludicrous.
The story of an elderly man, now facing death, having to come to terms with the mistakes of his sordid past might've had potential. But this film was muddled and misguided and a sad waste of some excellent acting talent.
Probably the biggest liability was that Dreyfuss, an actor I've always liked, was just totally unconvincing as an aging one-time crime boss. He never gives you the sense that he could've once been a menacing and powerful crime figure, even when younger. And as an old man, he comes across as more of cuddly grandfather type, and the scenes where he physically overcomes much younger men are a bit ludicrous.
The story of an elderly man, now facing death, having to come to terms with the mistakes of his sordid past might've had potential. But this film was muddled and misguided and a sad waste of some excellent acting talent.