A Bronx Tale

1993's A BRONX TALE is an adaptation by Chazz Palminteri of his stage play, a recollection of his early years in the titular NYC borough.  It is a solidly written, acted, and directed nostalgia piece, with an agreeable balance of grit and sentiment, much like life probably was in Belmont in the 1960s.  It's a highly entertaining and touching movie that will certainly play best for those who lived in this time and place, but has enough relatable lessons about growing up as to have broader appeal.  But the main problem with A BRONX TALE? Martin Scorsese.

No, he had no hand in this production, directed by his frequent leading actor Robert DeNiro, his debut.  But his shadow looms large as we witness neighborhood goombahs and the wide eyed kids who fear/emulate them.  Listen to conversations about fear itself, how it is an effective tool to keep underlings productive and in line. There is narration, swift violence, swift dollying, and pop sounds on the soundtrack.  It is not a coincidence that DeNiro is emulating his director, particularly GOODFELLAS, which came only three years earlier.  The early scenes of A BRONX TALE almost feel like stylistic plagiarism, and almost had me writing off this drama as second rate Marty.  But DeNiro eventually makes this story his own.  Er, his and Palminteri's.

Calogero is all of nine years old when he witnesses Sonny LoSpecchio gun down a guy ("over a parking space") right in front of his brownstone.  The kid ain't no rat, and soon Sonny is letting him play craps with his guys and earn tips in his bar.  But to Calogero's honest, upstanding bus driver father Lorenzo, it's blood money, and makes "C" return it.  As the years pass, the young man will secretly visit Sonny, receiving mostly sound advice from the mobster, even warning him not to follow in his footsteps.  A second father for him.

A BRONX TALE is about a boy who is guided by two very different men, and loves them both. Lorenzo (DeNiro) is a thoroughly decent and upstanding citizen, refusing higher paying jobs offered by the Mob and always making time for his son, teaching him that transperancy is always best.  Sonny (Palminteri), despite his lot, can respect that, and is first portrayed as just another evil criminal but as we get to know him, see that he does have some decency in him.  He knows he's doomed, and feels that maybe the kid has a chance to break free of neighborhood closemindedness. This is why he's especially concerned of C's friends, a group of punks whose racism may be their undoing.  Racial lines were very delineated in the 1960s, especially in NYC.

Palminteri and DeNiro deliver excellent performances.  The supporting cast may not fare as well but are all good enough to be believable.  Lillo Brancato, Jr. was selected for his undeniable resemblance to DeNiro, and though at times he may seem a bit wooden is fine as the teenaged Calogero.  There is a cameo near the end that will also remind you of GOODFELLAS.

Ah, but A BRONX TALE has its own (eventual) rhythm and soul, even a certain tenderness.  DeNiro delivers a smoothly directed movie for the most part, though parts of that barfight between Sonny's men and the Hell's Angels were a bit awkwardly staged.  My favorite moment was between nine year old Calogero and his father, who after marching him over to Sonny to return that blood money, gives him a good dressing down and lecture about character.  Francis Capra plays the little boy well, and how his anger turns to tears was some pretty impressive acting, there.