KILL THE IRISHMAN
By Gary Murray
Starring Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio, Paul Sorvino and Linda Cardellini,
Written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
Running time
MPAA Rating R
Selig Film Rating Matinee
The time is 1976 and it feels that during the world is falling apart during the 200 year anniversary of the country. In Cleveland, there was a rash of mob bombings that terrorized the citizens. It caused law enforcement to finally crack down on organized crime and union influence. Within this framework is the story of Danny Green, an Irish mobster and union boss. Kill the Irishman is his tale.
The film opens at the end. Danny Green (Ray Stevenson) is driving down the road messing with the radio. The radio shorts out in a puff of smoke. Danny jumps out just as the auto explodes in a fireball. Then we go back to the beginning with John Nardi (Val Kilmer) telling the tale.
The story starts in the mean streets of Cleveland. An orphaned Danny is fighting bullies, a subtle glimpse into how he has to struggle just to survive. Fast forward a few years and Danny is a young man working on the docks. It is a hard existence, run by a very crooked union boss. After having enough, Danny makes a play to take over the union and succeeds using smarts and his own muscle.
With his new power, he allies himself with Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken) who is a front for the mafia. This leads to a deal with John Nardi (Vincent D’Onofrio). Eventually Danny starts to want to be on his own which leads to crosses and double crosses. Then the bombings begin where they fail to get Danny every time. Eventually he becomes ‘the man that cannot be killed’.
The film is also about his personal life and marriage to Joan (Linda Cardellini) showing how family intersects with nefarious goals. Exercise and diet are also a part of Danny’s world. In a few instances it is stated that Danny is more of a Robin Hood character but the character is much more hood than gentle robin.
The amazing part of this film is all the secondary actors. In small roles are such big names as Robert Davi and Paul Sorvino, major character actors in their own right. The screen is filled with so many actors one has seen in different films that is almost becomes a game of guessing on who the next cameo will be. Some are used to great effect and others are just a cache
Ray Stevenson is an actor who has been around for awhile but this is a giant leap into a starring role. For the most part he handles it with certain modesty. He captures all the violence of the character, just not the humanity. While there are aspects of the character that do work, there is never a feeling of why he is legendary
In this rough man’s world, the breath of fresh air is Linda Cardellini as Joan, the wife. She captives in what is a secondary role. In the end, she becomes our conscious, the mirror reflection of what a different life Danny could have achieved.
I was brought up in a union house so I know just how crooked some in the union can be and how the muscle tactics are in use by members. Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh captures all the harsh realities lived by these men. He doesn’t rely on any fancy camera tricks to tell his story. His ‘aces in the hole’ are the talent in front of his lens and he just lets them do their jobs.
In the final analysis, Kill the Irishman feels like a vanity project, a movie made by a second tier star who calls in all the favors from his more successful counterparts. It is not a bad entertainment, it just feels unfinished and a half-told tale.
