Ben Kingsley reprises some of the gangster cool but none of the cockney fury of his gangster from "Sexy Beast" in the lead role of Frank Falenczyk, a supposedly Polish-American hit-man for a Polish-American gangland family/snowplow concern, though for the life of me Frank speaks as if he's got an Irish accent (and he's called "Francis" for much of the movie, mucking up my ethnic stereotypes). Dealing with his deadly, deadening job in the career-wise nowheresville of Buffalo NY is difficult, so Francis drowns his boredom in alcohol, which dulls his efficacy hit-man-wise. He's sent by his boss (Philip Baker Hall) to sunny San Francisco, where -- sponsored by an understanding tollbooth guard (Luke Wilson) in an insanely tolerant AA meeting, and getting involved with an even more insanely supporting beautiful woman (Tea Leone, who's made a fortune from these kinds of roles), Francis decides to dry out, straighten up, and become the best darned hit-man he can possibly be.
A lot of this movie will seem familiar to fans of the SOPRANOS, and will seem, in comparison to that greatest of TV shows, remarkably frivolous. (It doesn't help that Sir Ben Kingsley killed, so magisterially, in the Sopranos episode in which he appeared.) Director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, The Great Raid) seems overwhelmed by the deliberately indie quirkiness of the script; he gains momentum, although only briefly, during the one big action sequence. Luke Wilson underplays his role so unmemorably, it's seems strange that he's credited at all: he could have been, for all intents and purposes, a cameo.
What elevates this movie are Kingsley and Leone. Kingsley seems weirdly detached from what seems intended to be a comedic role; he's so amazingly expressive, and a few wry moments are made from close-ups of his face alone. And Tea Leone (who co-produced) is a fascinating actress. Her timing's quirky and yet never unnatural; her character is never more than two-dimensional, but the viewer can never be quite sure exactly which two dimensions are being inhabited at any time. Whenever she's on the screen, even in the predictable third act, you're not quite sure where she's coming from, where she's been, where she's going. The movie would have been much more interesting if it centered itself on her.
A lot of this movie will seem familiar to fans of the SOPRANOS, and will seem, in comparison to that greatest of TV shows, remarkably frivolous. (It doesn't help that Sir Ben Kingsley killed, so magisterially, in the Sopranos episode in which he appeared.) Director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, The Great Raid) seems overwhelmed by the deliberately indie quirkiness of the script; he gains momentum, although only briefly, during the one big action sequence. Luke Wilson underplays his role so unmemorably, it's seems strange that he's credited at all: he could have been, for all intents and purposes, a cameo.
What elevates this movie are Kingsley and Leone. Kingsley seems weirdly detached from what seems intended to be a comedic role; he's so amazingly expressive, and a few wry moments are made from close-ups of his face alone. And Tea Leone (who co-produced) is a fascinating actress. Her timing's quirky and yet never unnatural; her character is never more than two-dimensional, but the viewer can never be quite sure exactly which two dimensions are being inhabited at any time. Whenever she's on the screen, even in the predictable third act, you're not quite sure where she's coming from, where she's been, where she's going. The movie would have been much more interesting if it centered itself on her.