The Funeral (1996)

That was an excellent one.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

In the 30's, in New York, the coffin of the leftist gangster Johnny Tempio (Vincent Gallo) is brought to the house of his older brother Ray (Christopher Walken) for the wake of family and friends. Ray is a cold gangster that likes to read and is married to Jean (Annabella Sciorra). His brother Chez (Chris Penn) is a hot head that runs a bar and is married to Clara (Isabella Rossellini). Ray decides to revenge the murder of his younger brother and believes the gangster Gaspare (Benicio Del Toro) is the one who killed Johnny. Meanwhile Chez has a breakdown with tragic consequences for the Tempio brothers."The Funeral" is a violent movie directed by Abel Ferrara with great characters that are developed through flashbacks along the main storyline. There are great performances and scenes but unfortunately, it seems that neither the writer nor the director knew how to end the story that has an unsatisfactory conclusion. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Os Chefões" ("The Bosses")

Possibly psychotic mobster brothers Christopher Walken (as Raimundo "Ray" Tempio) and Chris Penn (as Cesarino "Chez" Tempio) gather with family for "The Funeral" of brother Vincent Gallo (Giovanni "Johnny" Tempio). Like good gangsters, they want to kill the mysterious, dark-clothed figure who shot Mr. Gallo. They pin the hit on rival crime lord Benicio del Toro (as Gaspare Spoglia); brother Gallo has been copulating with his wife three times a week. A nasty character, Mr. Walken wants to chop off Mr. del Toro's legs and slit his throat. And, Mr. Penn begins losing his marbles. But, while the hunt is on, we get to know the three brothers through flashbacks...While the performances are all fine, the young actors in the early flashback do not match the present day brothers, who do not even remotely resemble each other. Moreover, at his brother's casket, Penn states "Johnny" died at age 22, which would put Walken, Penn, and Gallo in their early to mid-twenties. The storyline takes time to decipher, which is fine; but, it does leave a few questions unanswered. Director Abel Ferrara and Ken Kelsch contribute great style. It's a man's movie, with memorable bookend roles for Paul Hipp (as Ghouly) and Patrick McGaw (in the cooler); but, wives Isabella Rossellini (as Clara) and Annabella Sciorra (as Jean) also hit the mark.****** The Funeral (8/28/96) Abel Ferrara ~ Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Vincent Gallo, Benicio del Toro

Abel Ferrera's gangster film 'The Funeral' resembles a pared-down version of Scorcese's 'Goodfellas', or a truer version of 'The Sopranos'. Utterly unsentimental and chilling, it refuses to add the faintest shine of glamour to its protagonists' lives, and the cast, headed by the vampirish Christopher Walkern, are universally excellent. And yet for all this, it's not actually that interesting. The movie industry is fascinated with violence as a subject; yet the freakishly horrible behaviour of the mafia may be a sad fact of life, but it's also an oddity. This is a good film, but it belongs to an over-exposed genre, with little to say about how ordinary people live. If I have to watch a gangster film, I'd rather chose Jim Jarmusch's hilarious 'Ghost Dog' than a movie that takes its subject so seriously.

Abel Ferrara ? Not a movie maker that will appeal to everyone . He`s best known for making DRILLER KILLER a movie far better than it`s given credit for and his only mainstream film is BODY SNATCHERS which is a rather unnecessary remake THE FUNERAL hints that it wants to be mainstream because everyone loves movies about gangsters don`t they ? , and there are a couple of well known actors in it too . Alas there`s an irritating aspect to the screenplay that wants to make certain characters leftists . Why do movies seem to be under the impression that gangsters have socialist ideals ? The British small budget production FACE had this as did the classic ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA . It`s often been said that the mafia are the most sucessful capitalist concept and I`m inclined to believe that There`s other audience unfriendly concepts to the movie , most of them being the fault of the director like graphic sex scenes , some serious violence especially at the downbeat conclusion , but the one scene that can`t fade from my mind is the scene where some of the male characters are watching a porn movie in a brothel . Young Johnny turns to the woman sitting beside him and they begin some serious french kissing . Did I mention this woman must be about 70 years old ? YUCK It`s hardly Ferrara`s best work and it`s probably recommended that potential audience members should familarise themselves with the director`s work before watching it Four out of ten