When it was released in 1991, Robert Benton's "Billy Bathgate" was accused of being dull and unfocused. With the slick gangster movies of the 1990s now mimicked to death, today "Bathgate" almost seems interesting.
The plot? Loren Dean plays Billy Bathgate, a South Bronx teenager who weasels his way into the criminal organization of Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). Along the way he befriends and falls in love with one of Schultz's molls, played by Nicole Kidman.
Thematically, "Bathgate" doesn't do anything particularly new. What it does well is come at well-worn material from odd angles. Scenes that other crime films skirt over are dwelt upon, Kidman's character constantly mocks the macho pretensions of Schultz's gang, and Bill is an entirely passive character, forever riding a wave of blind luck. Hoffman, meanwhile, plays Schultz as a man of extremes. Though tiny and mild-mannered, he's constantly erupting into violence so as to hide insecurities. Virtually all the problems Schultz faces are a result of his inability to keep a lid on his emotions.
"Billy Bathgate" boasts excellent production design by Patrizia Von Brandenstein, who attempts to evoke the flavour of mid 1930s New York. Nesot Almendros' cinematography is also fine, packed with rich browns and blacks. Both are responsible for the film's better elements; its spaces, places and approaches to architecture. Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi co-star. The film is loosely based on the life of Jewish mobster Arthur Flegenheimer.
8/10 – See Zhang Yimou's "Shanghai Triad".
The plot? Loren Dean plays Billy Bathgate, a South Bronx teenager who weasels his way into the criminal organization of Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). Along the way he befriends and falls in love with one of Schultz's molls, played by Nicole Kidman.
Thematically, "Bathgate" doesn't do anything particularly new. What it does well is come at well-worn material from odd angles. Scenes that other crime films skirt over are dwelt upon, Kidman's character constantly mocks the macho pretensions of Schultz's gang, and Bill is an entirely passive character, forever riding a wave of blind luck. Hoffman, meanwhile, plays Schultz as a man of extremes. Though tiny and mild-mannered, he's constantly erupting into violence so as to hide insecurities. Virtually all the problems Schultz faces are a result of his inability to keep a lid on his emotions.
"Billy Bathgate" boasts excellent production design by Patrizia Von Brandenstein, who attempts to evoke the flavour of mid 1930s New York. Nesot Almendros' cinematography is also fine, packed with rich browns and blacks. Both are responsible for the film's better elements; its spaces, places and approaches to architecture. Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi co-star. The film is loosely based on the life of Jewish mobster Arthur Flegenheimer.
8/10 – See Zhang Yimou's "Shanghai Triad".