If you want to see a movie about the life of a real hit man, a successful one, that is up to the point when he gets arrested, then this is a good one to see. There are no flamboyant characters in this one, no funny lines and not much of what we've come to expect from gangster movies; that is not what Richard Kuklinski was, so why muck it up with that. Writer/Director/Producer Ariel Vromen had a fair budget to work with ($10MM) but he did not splurge on anything fancy. He picked a terrific cast in Michael Shannon, Ray Liotta, Robert Davi, John Ventimiglia, James Franco and Winona Ryder; yes, Ryder did a terrific job in her role, she's back in true form.
Kuklinski had a childhood and upbringing that predisposed him to a violent life and the movie has just enough short scenes to convey that, if anybody pays attention. The mystery and perplexing aspect of Kuklinski's life was that he had one, outside of his assassinations' business. How he cared for and the extent to which he'd go to provide the best for his family was in sharp contrast to his cold calculating behavior as a killer. Vromen did a splendid job bringing this out with his movie.
Picking Michael Shannon to play, Kuklinski was the most important decision and one that was well done as Shannon does an excellent job. If you saw his performances in the past few years you should have noticed him, my favorite after this movie of course was the role he played in Premium Rush.
You also can't go wrong with Ray Liotta, Robert Davi and John Ventimiglia for gangster characters. James Franco had a short but very effective role in the movie and allows us to see a cold cold Kuklinski at work; about that, you'll probably go 'Ahh, I see!' when you watch the movie. This movie is one I liked a lot and if you feel the same way, you may want to check out 'Kill the Irishman'.
Kuklinski had a childhood and upbringing that predisposed him to a violent life and the movie has just enough short scenes to convey that, if anybody pays attention. The mystery and perplexing aspect of Kuklinski's life was that he had one, outside of his assassinations' business. How he cared for and the extent to which he'd go to provide the best for his family was in sharp contrast to his cold calculating behavior as a killer. Vromen did a splendid job bringing this out with his movie.
Picking Michael Shannon to play, Kuklinski was the most important decision and one that was well done as Shannon does an excellent job. If you saw his performances in the past few years you should have noticed him, my favorite after this movie of course was the role he played in Premium Rush.
You also can't go wrong with Ray Liotta, Robert Davi and John Ventimiglia for gangster characters. James Franco had a short but very effective role in the movie and allows us to see a cold cold Kuklinski at work; about that, you'll probably go 'Ahh, I see!' when you watch the movie. This movie is one I liked a lot and if you feel the same way, you may want to check out 'Kill the Irishman'.