Having only recently enjoyed cinema screenings of the three films in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Godfather' saga (1972-1990), you can forgive me for entering into this particular gangster picture with inflated expectations. 'Billy Bathgate (1991),' directed by Robert Benton, certainly shares a few peripheral characteristics with the all-time great gangster epics – Hoffman's Dutch Schultz has the same confused, world-weary outlook as Michael Corleone in his later years, and Billy's interactions with fellow members of a street-gang recall Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in America (1984).' But this film isn't quite epic enough to fit the bill, and instead falls among the more stylish and less sprawling entries into the gangster genre, works like 'Miller's Crossing (1990)' and 'Road to Perdition (2002).' Viewed from this perspective, 'Billy Bathgate' is a good film, with a universally-strong leading and supporting cast, and excellent cinematography by Néstor Almendros (in his final film). Benton previously achieved success with the intimate, Oscar-winning family drama 'Kramer vs. Kramer (1979),' and here he brings the same keen eye for human interaction.
Billy Bathgate (Loren Dean, whose naggingly-familiar face I'd previously seen in 'Gattaca (1997)') is a street-kid, a bright and resourceful youth who idolises the local organised-crime boss, Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). When offered a place in Schultz's ranks, Billy quickly becomes acquainted with the thrills and pitfalls of money, guns and power. However, for the bulk of the film, Billy remains a relatively passive onlooker of his boss' downfall, observing his ingenuity and brutality largely as one separated from danger by a pane of glass (which is, indeed, how we get our first good look at him). Only after rejecting his naive notions of Schultz as something more than an "ordinary man" does Billy feel empowered to react against his boss' immoralities, breaching his duties to spare the life of Schultz's strong-willed but reckless girlfriend Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman). Among the film's supporting roles are many familiar faces, including Bruce Willis as a disloyal crime associate, Steve Buscemi as a scar-faced lackey, Stanley Tucci as a rival crime boss, and Mike Starr as an ill-fated employee.
Though the general circumstances (and abruptness) of his assassination is faithfully reproduced in the film, the true-life Dutch Schultz died on October 24, 1935, at age 33. Thus, Dustin Hoffman was already twenty years older than the man whom he was supposed to be playing, and this certainly influenced how Schultz was portrayed, as an outdated relic grappling to understand his weakening grip on The Bronx. Loren Dean is very good in the main role, and it's disappointing that he hasn't been more prominent in the last decade or so. Also, I hadn't realised that Nicole was such a stunning lady in the early 1990s; she gave me a vague Gene Tierney vibe, and took my breath away every moment she was on screen! As an aside, I was amused to notice that the film's Australian VHS cover rated 'Billy Bathgate' M15+, for "medium violence and coarse language." How the classification board managed to overlook no less than two instances of full-frontal female nudity is beyond me. This isn't 'The Godfather,' but any fan of gangster pictures should certainly look this one up.
Billy Bathgate (Loren Dean, whose naggingly-familiar face I'd previously seen in 'Gattaca (1997)') is a street-kid, a bright and resourceful youth who idolises the local organised-crime boss, Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). When offered a place in Schultz's ranks, Billy quickly becomes acquainted with the thrills and pitfalls of money, guns and power. However, for the bulk of the film, Billy remains a relatively passive onlooker of his boss' downfall, observing his ingenuity and brutality largely as one separated from danger by a pane of glass (which is, indeed, how we get our first good look at him). Only after rejecting his naive notions of Schultz as something more than an "ordinary man" does Billy feel empowered to react against his boss' immoralities, breaching his duties to spare the life of Schultz's strong-willed but reckless girlfriend Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman). Among the film's supporting roles are many familiar faces, including Bruce Willis as a disloyal crime associate, Steve Buscemi as a scar-faced lackey, Stanley Tucci as a rival crime boss, and Mike Starr as an ill-fated employee.
Though the general circumstances (and abruptness) of his assassination is faithfully reproduced in the film, the true-life Dutch Schultz died on October 24, 1935, at age 33. Thus, Dustin Hoffman was already twenty years older than the man whom he was supposed to be playing, and this certainly influenced how Schultz was portrayed, as an outdated relic grappling to understand his weakening grip on The Bronx. Loren Dean is very good in the main role, and it's disappointing that he hasn't been more prominent in the last decade or so. Also, I hadn't realised that Nicole was such a stunning lady in the early 1990s; she gave me a vague Gene Tierney vibe, and took my breath away every moment she was on screen! As an aside, I was amused to notice that the film's Australian VHS cover rated 'Billy Bathgate' M15+, for "medium violence and coarse language." How the classification board managed to overlook no less than two instances of full-frontal female nudity is beyond me. This isn't 'The Godfather,' but any fan of gangster pictures should certainly look this one up.