Month: December 2021

A disagreement on action and an ill-advised love affair puts gangster Gabriel Byrne at odds with mob boss Albert Finney, leading to a series of events where it is unknown who will survive and who will end on top. For some reason lately, I have some difficulty with gangster films sometimes failing to figure out which side each person is on and falling behind as loyalties are bound to shift. This film was no different and maybe even worse than average on that front. I keep trying but I never feel as strongly about Coen films as their do, yet I keep checking out their titles because I often find strong story telling and intriguing bits in most of their work. This holds true here as well. The entire cast shines with no weak points among them. The costumes and design of the film are well set, perfectly evoking the dark mood of US cities during Prohibition. 

After losing his job as a salesclerk when he refuses to turn in comparison shopper Janet Leigh, Robert Mitchum weasels his way into her life, much to the chagrin of suitor Wendell Corey but to the joy of her young son Gordon Gebert. Gebert’s precociousness can be annoying at times as can Mitchum’s pushiness, especially in his insistence that he knows what is best for Leigh more than she herself does. But Mitchum’s laidback attitude as well as the enjoyable ways the love triangle plays out make the film entertaining. Especially memorable is the short scene with the little girl with the balloon tied to her hat who received roller skates for Christmas and is undeterred by the weather.   

Newly released from prison, Rafe Spall tries to reconnect with his son only to find complications in the form of Jim Broadbent’s Santa, found sleeping in the family’s shed after crashing his sleigh. It’s a bit dark for a Christmas film, with Santa winding up in jail himself, but also weirdly slapsticky, particularly in various animal-related antics and a parole officer bent on sending Spall back to prison. It’s the type of humor that is firmly intended for a pre-teen audience, making it only a mildly entertaining Christmas diversion for adults that I probably won’t seek out again any year soon.