Harry here with yet another review from Toronto. So many movies... Twould be heaven. Here's our first look at Ted Demme's latest...
Stax here. I wrote the review of "The Rat Pack" that you posted about a month ago. I'm writing to you with a review of a film I had the pleasure of working on (under the table don't you know -- maybe you should strike that?) last year as a lowly P.A. (cheapskates never did pay me for my last day!). It's a small indie flick by director Ted Demme which stars Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Famke Janssen, Colm Meaney, Ian Hart (John Lennon in "Backbeat"), Noah Emmerich (Jim Carrey's best friend in "The Truman Show"), Jason Barry (Leonardo's gut-shot Irish pal in Titantic), Billy Crudup, John Diehl (of Stargate and Miami Vice fame), and a cameo by Jeanne Tripplehorn. Billy Zane was supposed to be in it as an Italian hood named Silvio but they cut one pivotal scene from the flick, says Demme, so I imagine that was the one since I saw Zane's finished contract while working in the production office (I only worked on it during pre-production and the first week of filming, so I never met/saw Zane actually around).
When I worked on the film, it was entitled "Noose". Then it became "Snitch"; that's the title it was shown under at Sundance this past winter. Then it became "Talk of the Town". Now, finally, "Monument Ave". It was screened last Thursday (been too busy to post this sooner) at the Boston Film Festival. Leary, Famke, and Demme were all there to plug it; Famke and Demme were also plugging "Rounders" in the next theater. The film's getting primarily positive reviews and the audience seemed to really enjoy it. The problem is that it's a small, dark indie whose appeal probably won't be very strong outside of urban Boston unless there's positive word of mouth and critical acclaim to help it. That's why I'm writing to you.
First off, I went into this screening with pretty low expectations even though I briefly worked on it because the script pages I had thumbed through didn't seem too enthralling and the writer's the same guy who penned the atrocious Leary-starrer "Two if By Sea". I must say, though, I was very pleasantly surprised by "Monument Ave" (it looks like Demme and the cast did a lot of improv; it paid off). It's a dark but funny look at life for Bobby O'Neil, a middle-aged, Irish-American car thief and dope fiend (Leary, 'course) in Charlestown, Mass. (a blue-collar, Irish enclave in urban Boston, site of Bunker Hill). Bobby and his crew (which includes his young cousin over from Dublin) are stuck in a perpetually adolescent existence of booze and drugs, racist bantering, and macho posturing. Bobby then is an all-around ne'er-do-well who still lives with his parents even though he's damn near forty! He steals foreign sportscars and peddles eightballs for ruthless Townie (Boston-speak for Charlestown natives) mob boss with a love for cashmere named Jackie O'Hara (Meaney, in a flashy, smug, all-too-brief supporting tour-de-force reminiscent of Bob Hoskins' early stuff). Bobby's also screwing Jackie's moll Katy behind his back (Famke, in a role Kelly Lynch opted out of at the last moment to do "Mr. Magoo" instead!). When two of Bobby's crew are wasted by Jackie for knowing too much and being potential rats, Charlestown reacts the way it is infamous for: adhering to its Code of Silence. Window shades are drawn, nobody saw nuthin', and suddenly everybody (24 guys!) are all in the men's room when the shooting happens. Martin Sheen has a by-the-numbers, glorified cameo as a Boston detective disgusted by the way his Irish brethren are adhering to this "bullshit" code and how the drugs and the guns have ruined the old neighborhood. With the police pressing him and with Jackie displaying that all life is expendable in his eyes, Bobby is forced to grow up fast, reevaluate his life, and choose between fleeing the only world he's ever known or confronting Jackie and his gunsels. You can imagine which option Bobby chooses. There are several hilarious sequences early on that involve Bobby and his pals having all-night, cocaine-fueled, paranoid rant sessions about movie stars and tits; the adolescent manner in which his crew approaches crime is also quite funny. Shot on a shoestring budget by DP Adam Kimmel (Demme's constant collaborator), it's dark, gritty, grainy filmmaking that really captures the washed-out look of the blue collar Boston neighborhoods. It really nails the ennui (French -- sorry!!) of wasted days and wasted nights as a low-level loser in a dead-end part of town.
There are some cliches and underdeveloped characters in this film, though: Sheen's cop is one-note; Colm Meaney imbues Jackie with more presence than he probably had on the page; Jeanne Tripplehorn has an inexplicable and forgettable cameo -- they put her name on the poster like she's in a starring role -- why did she take this three minute girl-in-a bar role anyway? You didn't need a star for it. Noah Emmerich is always cool to watch but should have had more to do; after "The Truman Show", this role's a bit too down-sized for him. As for the performances? Leary finally gets a role that shows his range and dramatic possibilities (he was a theater major at Emerson College and has actually performed Shakespeare, believe it or not); if the old adage that comedians make fine dramatic actors holds true (Robin Williams, Michael Keaton, William Powell, SNL's Randy Quaid and Robert Downey, Jr, Kevin Spacey used to be a stand-up), then Leary's on the road to better things than "Gunmen" and "Operation: Dumbo Drop". Ian Hart is funny and moving as Leary's sidekick Mouse. Famke continues to show she's more than another exotic, gorgeous face/body; I think she's got a great shot at a Michelle Pfeiffer level of respect and stardom if she keeps choosing her projects right (no more "Deep Risings"!). Again, Meaney did quite well with an underwritten role (his character was introduced in the script as "your stereotypical gangster" -- never a good choice of words by a screenwriter to describe their characters!). Billy Crudup has a great albeit VERY brief turn as a junkie/childhood friend of Bobby's. And whoever played Leary's mother is a great find; she's really the essence of the film. By the way, the wardrobe people nailed the look of our local mobsters just right. No "GoodFellas" schtick. They all look like the barflies they really are. And no one overdoes the Boston accent here; the best job of doing it since "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", which cast and crew openly acknowledge as this film's biggest influence.
"Monument Ave" is a poignant, funny, gripping indie about lives with greater potential that are wasted because of crime and the trappings of the "never leave your neighborhood" mentality (which I know all too well from growing up a blue collar, Irish-American Bostonian). It's NOT a downer, though; Demme and Leary's comedic instincts prevent them from going into the nihilistic mode the Hughes brothers embrace in their similarly-themed films. People outside of Boston will relate to and enjoy this film despite its provincial trappings because of the immediacy of Demme's direction and the compelling performances by the leads. But the film needs the word of mouth to pick up steam, which my gut tells me won't happen because these small films are getting lost in the shuffle more now that the indie market's rather glutted (esp. with gangland-themed projects). That would be a shame for a well-crafted and enjoyable film like "Monument Ave." It opens in NY, Boston, and LA on Sept. 25th and in a platform release across the country a week after that. Spread the word, Harry. This one's worth a look-see. --
Thanks, STAX
