Gangster films have been around since the 1910s and, throughout those 100 plus years of the subgenre’s cinematic history, there have been quite a few stone-cold winners and just as many entries that didn’t really add anything new to it. Then there are those that came between those two categories, crime movies that either tweaked the genre and weren’t properly appreciated for that at the time or movies that did what others had done before but did it well and, again, weren’t properly appreciated for it at the time. In other words, the following movies are deeper cuts than Goodfellas, The Godfather, The Departed, Pulp Fiction, Scarface, Boyz n the Hood, Reservoir Dogs, The Untouchables and the like (though The Untouchables is basically a reverse gangster film).
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Which of the following gangster movies have you seen? Which sound like something you’d give a shot? Let’s find out.
5) Running Scared
Running Scared isn’t a gangster film in the traditional sense, but it does work its way into the subgenre in its own way. The late Paul Walker plays Joey Gazelle, a low-level mobster subordinate who is tasked with disposing of some guns that were used on police officers when said corrupt officers were trying to rob both sides of a drug deal.
But Gazelle doesn’t do it right away, instead stashing the weapons in his home. When one of those weapons is stolen by his 10-year-old son’s friend and used to commit a further murder, Gazelle has to chase the kid down, get the gun back, and do what he should have done right off the bat. Running Scared is one gritty, tense movie with very few moments of reprieve. If that’s your type of thing, you’ll love it. Not to mention, the film features the best performance of Walker’s career.
4) Miller’s Crossing
It’s not quite at the level of Fargo, but Miller’s Crossing is the ultimate gangster movie where one character plays both sides of a gang war. You feel every ounce of the escalating tension. It’s a conflict where no character, not even the most likable of the lot, is safe.
There are a few things that couldn’t have been done any better than they are. First is the painstaking detail of the film’s replication of the 1920s. It’s set design that makes you feel like you’ve hopped in a time machine. Then there are the performances, which are universally great, but special shoutouts are due John Turturro, Albert Finney, and Marcia Gay Harden. Then there’s the pacing, which allows the film to feel like an epic even though it runs just under two hours.
3) Sexy Beast
Even in duds like BloodRayne or A Sound of Thunder, you can tell that Ben Kingsley is doing everything in his power to deliver a performance that is both believable and entertaining. The man half-asses nothing. Because of this it’s hard to really pinpoint what his best work is. But there are two performances that are definitely worthy of the number one spot. The first is Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi. The second is Don Logan in Sexy Beast. He is so terrifying as the crime boss you feel as though he’s about to jump through the screen and put a gun to your head.
Fortunately, Kingsley isn’t even the only thing about this movie that is great. Ray Winstone makes for a great lead as the retired gangster Don Logan is trying to get back into the game, the film’s off-kilter humor is effective from moment one, and the cinematography is consistently unique and engrossing. This made for a startlingly expert directorial debut from Jonathan Glazer, who went on to helm Birth, Under the Skin, and The Zone of Interest.
2) Layer Cake
In between turning in memorable supporting performances in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Road to Perdition and becoming James Bond in Casino Royale, Daniel Craig led Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake. A stylish British crime drama in the vein of Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake follows Craig’s unnamed London-based unnamed cocaine dealer who wants to get out of the business. But before he can do so, his boss gives him two seemingly impossible tasks which may end up gluing him to the business forever.
Layer Cake can be a little densely plotted but it gets away with it thanks to the quick-witted and fast-paced way it carries itself. And, while it was an integral movie in getting Craig the Bond gig, it’s also a film that thrives on the strength of its supporting performances from Colm Meaney, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Ben Whishaw (who would go on to play Q to Craig’s Bond), Tom Hardy, and Sally Hawkins.
Stream Layer Cake on Philo.
1) State of Grace
In State of Grace, Sean Penn plays Terry Noonan, an undercover cop who goes to his childhood home of Hell’s Kitchen to take on the mob presence. The issue is that two of his old friends are heavily involved. Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) is now head of a family and Frankie’s younger brother, Jackie (Gary Oldman), is an enforcer. Things are also complicated by the fact Terry is in love with Frankie and Jackie’s sister, Kathleen (Robin Wright).
There are a few shootouts and some tension regarding Terry possibly blowing his cover, but what State of Grace is concerned with more than anything else is developing realistic characters. It excels in doing so, with typically fantastic performances from all four leads. There is a cliché here and there, but for the most part this is an engrossing crime drama with scene-stealing work by Oldman.
Stream State of Grace on fuboTV.
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Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films -
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.
