Two Bits

🎞️ If you have been following my Letterboxd page for the last couple of months, I think you for sure have understood that I am absolutely part of the Al Pacino fan club because I can’t even put it into words how much I adore him. Because of that, I thought that I had at least heard of all his movies at least once, but it turns out I was wrong. I had never heard even the smallest bit of info about this film. Especially since it is from the same year as one of his best films ever, "Heat," which marked the prime time of his career renaissance. So I am still a bit confused as to why exactly he made this film. I won’t exaggerate how good the film was, though, because it is not the "Cinema Paradiso" of its time. But it is definitely a hidden gem! It has a story that, for what it’s worth, delivers a very strong and emotional message about growing up and caring for your family. It also carries an overarching theme of love for cinema and movie theaters, which is right up my alley and definitely added an extra layer for me!  For a film with a relatively small budget, the cast they assembled was surprisingly very fun to watch. Of course, Al Pacino is the big star in the film— as he always is— and you might think that he doesn’t try as hard in smaller movies. But even here, he is excellent and able to bring a lot of emotional weight because he’s just playing the part, which I really love about him. His daughter was portrayed very strongly by the amazing Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who already proved to be a great match with Pacino in "Scarface," and she absolutely delivers here too. Her performance was deeply emotional, making it easy to care for her and everything she did to keep her family safe and well during the difficult times they were living through. The film’s actual lead was played by Jerry Barone, who, as far as I know, doesn’t have much else in his acting career. That’s a shame because, for a child actor, he actually had a lot of talent. I must admit that in the heavy themes the film carried at times, he performed on the same level as the grown-ups, which I found very impressive. I won’t even try to identify other cast members I might recognize, because I don’t expect that to be the case— except for the narrator, who was surprisingly enough Alec Baldwin. Especially at the time, Baldwin was a big name, so I think the director had a lot of good friends in the industry. The film sets used here mostly consisted of streets and houses, but that didn’t bother me at all. They looked as if they had been created with great care to fit the story’s setting. I also haven’t seen many movies set in the Great Depression of 1933 in the US, so I was happy to learn more about the country’s vast history and different periods. The new theater opening in town served as a big visual highlight, which worked very well for me. Every time they showed it, I felt the same love the main character had for it. The soundtrack was also well composed. Carter Burwell did some great work, even if I probably won’t remember the music a year from now because it’s not as catchy as some other tracks. Still, like in most of his work, Burwell’s score supported the story beautifully, which I always appreciate. The poster was insanely good as well, showing nothing more than the cinema at the center of the night, without even featuring Pacino. That choice emphasizes the main character’s love for cinema, and I can only support that. At the end of the day, I will admit that this is not the best Pacino movie—heck, it’s not even close by a big margin. But it’s far from being as bad as some of the B-movies today’s big actors sometimes say yes to. It has a good enough story and an engaging world that make it an enjoyable experience for every movie lover! 🌃