Capone (2020)

Capone: Directed by Josh Trank. With Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon, Al Sapienza. The 47-year old Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past.

“I admired the film more than I enjoyed it, but it kept my interest throughout despite being a bit of slog at times. Itu0026#39;s fascinating. The title u0026#39;Caponeu0026#39; invokes the expectation that this was a biopic of the famous gangster, but this isnu0026#39;t that at all. This is something very different, and very deliberately so, but due to the title itu0026#39;s going to confuse and disappoint most people (which is why Trank hated that he had to change it from the original title u0026#39;Fonzou0026#39; for marketing reasons). Thereu0026#39;s hardly a reference for this kind of film; itu0026#39;s not a traditional narrative in any sense.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat I keep thinking about is how even most gangster films who pretend to de-glamorize criminals and their lifestyle fail; itu0026#39;s the same problem with the u0026quot;anti-u0026quot; war movie that still depicts a rousing, exciting adventure next to the misery and the atrocities and thus defeats its own purpose. Rare is the war or gangster film that actually achieves to show the underlying emptiness; the ugly, banal, vulgar and sad reality that ultimately is what most lives of violence lead towards until the haunting memories are the only thing that remains.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe reason for that is obvious: nobody would watch that kind of film because it would be too bleak. But u0026#39;Caponeu0026#39; manages that rare feat: itu0026#39;s bleak – but not bleak enough to turn you off, and itu0026#39;s even often entertaining (in terms of its performances, the fantastic score, the beautiful cinematography). But even though this probably wasnu0026#39;t the filmu0026#39;s intention, it still manages to be the ultimate deconstruction of the gangster as an u0026quot;iconu0026quot; – more so even than Scorseseu0026#39;s u0026#39;Irishmanu0026#39; (though itu0026#39;s nowhere near as good a film).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI liked Capone; itu0026#39;s weird (and I guess you shouldnu0026#39;t watch it unless you like profoundly weird little arthouse films) but this is definitely not a badly made film. I hope Trank continues on this path and makes more strange, personal films – although perhaps of the kind that are a little more accessible.”