Frank Nitti: The Enforcer (1988)

As Good As It Gets

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is a well made TV movie that succeeds in getting real depth to its story, the film looks and has a authentic feel of the era represented. The real strength of the film is in its major casting of Australian actor the very reliable Anthony LaPaglia as the title charterer of Frank Nitti to whom he has more than a passing resemblance.I found this little known gangster film,well worth watching and very surprisingly good.7 out of 10.

I turned this on only to have something to watch while exercising. Although my routine ended before the movie did, I taped it to watch later. I was very surprised at how well-made and interesting it turned out to be. I can't add much to the other excellent reviews but it's definitely worth viewing if a person is even vaguely interested in the subject matter.

I've seen many stories and films about the mafia and the gangsters of the 1910'-1920's...this one of Frank Nitti was an eye opener! Superb directing and actors involved and story content was right to the heart of being real and who they were. One automatically thinks or hears "mafia" and goes bananas..but they have the same blue blood anyone else does til exposed to light and turns red...they have a heart too as portrayed so very well in this film. If this film rings true to life, then one has to see why Nitti became who he was, no doubt about it. He believed in the honour of his name and would not back down from being from Sicily. How many back then can say they cowardly cringed to reveal their true identity when brought forth against an adversary, how many today can say the same??? Remember, he came to America from the irons of opression, and what did he encounter when he got here, but double the opression he and his family already had suffered in Sicily! He became a Barber to make a living, a very lowly job but one in which he heard much as he listened more than he talked. He had a knack for philosophy, much like the old phisolophers of the BC days...his philosophy should go down in history not his notorious deeds he later administrated. His deeds became the ends to his brutality he suffered because of Who he was...that alone should be written in history. Much like what others that have been opressed in America...the Afro-americans, the women, those who sought to only want to have honour and stand tall, have a voice and be heard for themselves...even to the end like Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, the list could be endless if we talk about philsophy of why we are who we are. Why is it that those who stand for justice and honour die young, without honour they deserve...why do Americans fight amongst themselves? What is life all about if we all are a people of all races can not get along and live peacefully as one? Then I really do not understand, but we need such people to keep us motivated to believe in ourselves that each of us, as individuals do mean something and do have a place in America...don't we?

This is an interesting story about the man who were known as Capone's right hand but wasn't he more than that? The story skips some parts of his life that could have been explored better if they weren't crammed into a 95 minute TV film. This could have been an excellent movie with a better supporting cast and the directing could also have been polished some. Anthony LaPaglia does an excellent job in this. I think he has many sides to him other than the lawyer in the TV series (he also performs outstandingly in the movie "Phoenix"). I rated this one 6/10 >