I felt obliged to Review this Movie since there is none to be read at this Point which is a let down, it deserves one I Believe.
Plot: retired detective with blood ties to the mafia rattles the neighborhood Cage when he discovers that his Brother's killer gets an early release from prison.
This Movie seems to have slipped through the cracks, which is a shame because it is really good. Now, this a routine mafia Movie but it has more layers than, say, Goodfellas. Although Goodfellas is much better it is still, storywise, quite thin. Zarra's Law has a lot going on with lots of interesting characters.
Tony Sirico was an excellent choice for the lead, he handles his character really well and puts his experience from several mafia/cop installments (The Sopranos, Goodfellas, Cop land, Gotti) into good use. Brendan Fehr stars as his nephew who returns to the hood, he does his part well as the Young hero, and not to forget, Burt Young as an old time mafia head.
Zarra's Law has a lot going for it: good actors from top to bottom; multiple subplots to enrich the main story; great atmosphere.
Downsides? Well, as mentioned above, it is a routine mafia Movie with less of a surprising ending. But it has high production values which makes you disregard this fact.
It is also a bit too short, Clocks in at 85 min. With such interesting characters and multiple subplots I Think 1 hrs and 40 min would have been better.
What to expect? It is not a God Father type of mafia Movie with lines like "he is sleeping with the fishes", nor is it violent like Casino or the Untouchables, and it does not have the enjoyable lines like in Goodfellas. It is neither, by any means, as good as these Movies.
But Zarra's Law has something of a modern day Boardwalk Empire and N.Y.P.D Blue/Blue Bloods feel to it. Qualitywise it is somewhat less good than The Iceman, Killing them Softly and Stand up Guys, but equal to Mobsters, Billy Bathgate, Hoodlum.
I give it 6 out of 10 due to its feel good touch, plot/subplots and characters.
