DEATH WISH (1974) Movie Review

DEATH WISH (1974)

Amongst the rampant crime rates, countless poor and piling trash, meek Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) makes it day by day working for a housing development company and spending time with his loving wife. His peaceful life is destroyed though, when a gang of hoods breaks into his home and attacks his wife and visiting daughter. After the attack, Paul attempts to hang on to his life by keeping busy and constantly checking on his daughter's health. When the police are unable to apprehend the unknown criminals, Paul finds his thoughts turning to vengeance.

Taking to the streets at night, Paul sets himself up time and time again as easy prey for would-be muggers. But when the muggers make their move, Paul instead pulls his hidden gun and kills the muggers. His actions quickly spread through tabloids and he becomes a media sensation. The police begin a citywide manhunt for the vigilante, hoping to stop him from killing again, before the entire city populous churns into a murderous frenzy in the name of self defense.

Based on the book of the same name, DEATH WISH takes a very harsh and real look at what drives a man to turn to vigilantism as a way to cope with pain, loss, and a sense of helplessness. Director Michael Winner spends over half the movie building up Paul Kersey before letting him lose into the streets. Before Paul turns to the gun, he tries using the cops, turns to escapism as he flies to Tucson for a business trip, and even to the bottle. It is only when all else fails, and he sees his family crumble away forever that he finally loads his revolver.

The film itself, though running just over ninety minutes, tries to encompass a rounded view of vigilantism and how people cope as victims of crime. Paul's daughter runs from her pain within herself, and eventually becomes catatonic. Paul's son-in-law offers a cowardly "cut and run" excuse. The mayor even get a piece of the action when he secretly learns that mugging rates have gone down significantly during Paul's midnight outings. The police are even reluctant to arrest him, partially due to not wanting to create a martyr, and more so because they secretly admire what he is doing.

Charles Bronson, in arguably his greatest role, which would also typecast him for the rest of life, brings a depth and pain to the screen that is heartbreaking to watch unfold even when he finds solace in the gun. It is perhaps even more painful after he resorts to the gun. It is a slow transformation, taking almost thirty minutes, and incorporates not just an emotional range that allows the viewer to gain a true understanding and compassion for him, but takes the time to explain both his hesitation and proficiency with firearms. Bronson, though not quite the everyman as originally written in the book due to his stocky frame, is given weaknesses such as glasses to differentiate him from the more rugged Bronson characters in THE DIRTY DOZEN and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. It is no mistake though that he is given a six-shooter, as he takes down the lawless thieves one by one like a gunslinger in the wild west.

The landscape that Michael Winner paints of New York is a frightening image, still to this day. Upon its theatrical release, it must have been a shocking sight for both urban viewers, and even more horrific to suburbia to witness what had be fallen the Greatest City On Earth. Winner pulls no punches here as he takes his time to paint the small details in his concrete jungle. His attack sequence in the apartment, a vital element to the story, is portrayed with an especially visceral touch as he shows the true and very real evil that lurks the streets. Taken as a period piece today, it is among the top films of its time to give an honest portrayal of just what New York City was like in one of its darkest times, and should prove as a warning of history repeating itself, should crime once again take a vice-like grip on the Big Apple.

DEATH WISH still elicits the same gut emotional reactions now as it did over thirty years ago, and is still a top contender in the vigilante subgenre due to the time it takes to hone the main character into an all too believable person in an all too real situation. He is flesh and blood and not invincible, and Winner takes time to show us that as well. It also remains relevant even in today's debates and conversations, as it brings up universal thoughts and conflicting opinions on how to deal with crime, criminals, and punishment. No one would ever want to be in Paul Kersey's shoes, but deep down inside us all, there is a part that would all too willingly lace up those shoes and walk the shadowed sidewalks if need be.

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS (1999) Movie Review

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS (1999)

On Saint Patrick's Day, in a South Boston bar, two Irish brothers, Connor and Murphy, are having a few rounds with their friends, when a few Russian mafia soldiers step in and threaten the good time. The next morning, FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) is brought in to investigate two dead Russian mafia soldiers found in an alley. As he makes his way through the evidence, almost clairvoyantly piecing together what happened, he is unaware that Connor and Murphy, who until the previous night were just meat packers, have taken the spontaneous barfight as a message from God, to begin a vengeful elimination of the evil men in the world, starting with Boston's criminal underground.

With help from their friend Rocco, a low level delivery boy in the Italian mob who has just been betrayed by his boss, the two brothers begin to target the higher-ups. Italain boss Poppa Joe, who now fears for his life, calls in Il Duce (Scottish comedian Billy Connolly in a chilling reverse typecast) a merciless killer who has just been released from jail to eliminate the two brothers. All the while, Smecker, who has finally figured out who his mysterious killers are, becomes torn between upholding the law or standing aside to let the two brothers continue to purge the city of villains.

Seven years before Martin Scorcese took a baseball bat to the kneecaps of South Boston's ethnic organized crime syndicates, an unknown writer and director, Troy Duffy, gave it a few good pistol whips with this debut film (and at the time of this writing, his only movie). Unfortunately, as the film was being prepared to be released, two brats in Colorado decided it would be a good idea to storm their school armed to their teeth with guns. In the ensuing aftermath, THE BOONDOCK SAINTS was practically shelved due to its graphic violence and vengeful themes. The film was released quietly on a few screens, and then dumped onto DVD almost three years later. For lesser films, this would be its final death toll. However, great films will find their audience no matter the circumstances, and after several years of churning in the waters and building up word-of-mouth, this movie has found its embracing audience.

Troy Duffy, along with some helpful flare from b-movie cinematographer Adam Kane, brings to life some unusual characters in some very unusual circumstances, which play out in a stylish and non-linear timeline, that seems new and exciting even in the midst of the "Tarantino-influenced" 90's crime-action movie glut. Much of this credit though is due, not from the time-jumping itself, but from the performance from supporting actor Willem Dafoe, whose FBI character Smecker is tracking the citywide crime syndicate slayings. The movie follows a back and forth pattern, as it chronicles the two brothers up until just before they begin their rampage. Time then jumps forward to the aftermath, where Smecker deduces what he believes has happened. It then jumps back in time and divulges what actually happened. It is an interesting timeframe setup, made all the more enjoyable by Dafoe, whose already off-kilter Smecker slowly creeps into absurdity as he attempts to piece together the increasingly bizarre crime scene.

While Dafoe does steal the show here, the two main heroes, Connor and Murphy, played by Sean Patrick Flanery (of THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES fame) and Norman Reedus pull off a commendable job as the two lovable, multi-lingual Catholic killers, who eloquently quote the bible scripture, Irish family prayers they are given, and portray a brotherly love and bond that most siblings would be jealous of. Their devilish good looks may also get some of the more squeamish female viewers through the graphic violence, which delivers in spades. The rest of the cast is pulled right out of every other mob movie made in the past twenty years. They know their lot in movie acting and do a fine job a cannon fodder. Also, keep an eye out for the Hedgehog himself, Ron Jeremy, in a brief cameo.

Beneath the surface layer of the brutal, yet somehow beautiful, action and the splattering of blood that is the very essence and base for the argument against glorified violence, lies an even more dangerous open-ended question that will be inescapable for even the most casual viewer of the film - can there be justifiable homicide? Wrath, being your reviewer's favorite sin, and the judgment of God plays a key role in the brothers' decision to do what they do, and when a loose code of honor is created amongst the two to murder only bad guys, it creates an additional layer of questioning. The film is smart in that it does not try to answer the question, and even puts doubt within Connor and Murphy even as they release soul after soul to the afterlife. In a post-script to the film, under the closing credits, passer-bys on the street are asked what they think of the media dubbed Saints, which range from placing them on pedestals to condemning them to damnation. Within the film broad strokes are made for both sides of the argument, and it'll be up to you to put the fine touches on the canvas.