*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS
"Homicide " is a movie from David Mamet that feels like a movie , instead of stage play like his other movies. It's surprising well directed . It has a dark , gritty feel . The dialogue are great , after all it's a trademark of Mamet. The actors are allowed to show emotions and they gave energetic performances.
Joe Mantegna is great in the main role , even better than he was in "House of games". Of course he plays now a different character and is the main star. His character is tough and independent , yet his also a good man . Mantegna shows the transformation of his character in a very believable way . I was also surprised and delighted to see William Macy as a tough guy for once instead of his usual "shy guy" role. Ving Rhames gives a good episode. Anyway the acting is rally good here and even Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet's second wife) is watchable.
"Homicide" is a good drama about identity , about discovering one and losing another . It's a sad , bitter and very real life movie. The final exchange of looks between Mantegna and the prisoner reminds us how evil very often comes from the need to do good.
The main problem is the ending . It works as a drama , but from logical point of view it's one big plot hole. 1) Was there a Secret Jewish organization or not ? I have seen this movie two times and it's still a confusing thing . Personally I think they were arms dealers. 2) It really doesn't matter who they were . The point is that the whole operation was a trick to convince Mantegna to give them the list . The problem is that a) they couldn't be sure that Mantegna will find it (he did find it very accidentally) , b) he couldn't give the list to them , because it was locked in police headquarters. I thought (the first time I've seen the movie) that "Homicide" will end with Mantegna stealing the list from the headquarters and getting fired. They were able to blackmail Mantegna with photos , but they couldn't be really sure that Mantegna will care so much to personally destroy the shop. 3) In the end the Jews failed because Mantegna is fired from police and he won't be able to steal the list , even if he would want to. So the lists lies in the police headquarters and they are left with nothing despite so much work
I give it 7/10.
"Homicide " is a movie from David Mamet that feels like a movie , instead of stage play like his other movies. It's surprising well directed . It has a dark , gritty feel . The dialogue are great , after all it's a trademark of Mamet. The actors are allowed to show emotions and they gave energetic performances.
Joe Mantegna is great in the main role , even better than he was in "House of games". Of course he plays now a different character and is the main star. His character is tough and independent , yet his also a good man . Mantegna shows the transformation of his character in a very believable way . I was also surprised and delighted to see William Macy as a tough guy for once instead of his usual "shy guy" role. Ving Rhames gives a good episode. Anyway the acting is rally good here and even Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet's second wife) is watchable.
"Homicide" is a good drama about identity , about discovering one and losing another . It's a sad , bitter and very real life movie. The final exchange of looks between Mantegna and the prisoner reminds us how evil very often comes from the need to do good.
The main problem is the ending . It works as a drama , but from logical point of view it's one big plot hole. 1) Was there a Secret Jewish organization or not ? I have seen this movie two times and it's still a confusing thing . Personally I think they were arms dealers. 2) It really doesn't matter who they were . The point is that the whole operation was a trick to convince Mantegna to give them the list . The problem is that a) they couldn't be sure that Mantegna will find it (he did find it very accidentally) , b) he couldn't give the list to them , because it was locked in police headquarters. I thought (the first time I've seen the movie) that "Homicide" will end with Mantegna stealing the list from the headquarters and getting fired. They were able to blackmail Mantegna with photos , but they couldn't be really sure that Mantegna will care so much to personally destroy the shop. 3) In the end the Jews failed because Mantegna is fired from police and he won't be able to steal the list , even if he would want to. So the lists lies in the police headquarters and they are left with nothing despite so much work
I give it 7/10.