Lansky

It's a very so-so movie, but Harvey Keitel makes it completely worth watching. His demeanor toward the young writer reminded me of some of my own mentors. Not that they were gangsters. Just something in his voice and delivery. Don't you love it when people are really, really good at their jobs?

Harvey Keitel is looking all of his 82 years and more but one thing is for sure , his acting hasn't diminished one little bit , which is a good thing for this film because if it wasn't for him , this would have been dull as dish water .

When the aging Meyer Lansky is investigated by the Feds, who suspect he has stashed away millions of dollars over half a century, the retired gangster reveals the untold truth about his life as the boss of the National Crime Syndicate.

I love a gangster film but they have to have something a little different about them for me to really enjoy them . This does and doesn't.

The scenes with Keitel and to a certain extent Sam Worthington are really watchable ( even though there are too many words of wisdom ) but the problem is , because Lansky is telling his life story to David Stone , the film is interspersed with flashback scenes of when he was a young man and to be brutally honest they aren't any good . The Director makes the mistake of doing the gangster scenes like painting by numbers . Every cliche in book is used and it's just dull .

Thankfully Harvey Keitel turns a sows ear into a silk purse and makes the film enjoyable although I couldn't stop looking at the prosthetic nose they gave him which was very distracting.

To confuse people for some weird reason the the movie company changed the name from lansky to A Righteous man - a much duller title . Why do they do things like that ?

Greetings again from the darkness. If asked, the vast majority of movie lovers would name THE GODFATHER (1972), THE GODFATHER II (1974), and GOODFELLAS (1990) as the quintessential mafia movies. Sure, there are dozens of others, but that mob triumvirate has ruled the roost for many years. It's doubtful writer-director Eytan Rockaway ever gave one moment of thought that his second feature, written from a story by his father, author Robert Rockaway, might join the ranks of those top three, but that doesn't prevent it from being a quite interesting tale based on true events.

Sam Worthington (AVATAR, 2009) stars as David Stone, a writer who had some success a few years back with his Kennedy biography. Since then, he's struggled in both his personal and professional life. In 1981 when an elderly Meyer Lansky (Harvey Keitel) contacts him to write the true Lansky story, David jumps at the opportunity, seeing it as a solution to his many problems. The two men meet at a Miami diner that Lansky frequents. These diner meetings form the structure of the story, and director Rockaway uses flashbacks to the 1940's to "show" us what Lansky is telling his biographer from the booth.

John Magaro plays the younger Lansky, a man who is remarkably good with numbers and calm, yet forceful, in his demeanor. Lansky has partnered with Ben "Bugsy" Siegel (David Cade), who provides some muscle and flamboyance that Lansky lacks. We see the development of their business, and how Lansky's shrewd business acumen leads to a connection with Lucky Luciano, as well as providing the government with intelligence during the war. Lansky's story to David glosses over the bootlegging and other revenue streams to concentrate on gaming, which of course, is now legal in many states.

The supporting cast includes Minka Kelly as David's fling at the motel, AnnaSophia Robb as Lansky's wife Anne, Shane McRae as Lucky Luciano, and David James Elliott as the FBI Agent obsessed with solving the long-dead Lansky case and locating the $350 million supposedly hidden away. As you might expect, the story bounces from Miami to New York City to Cuba (a stunning Colonial Hotel in Havana) to Vegas to Geneva and even Israel, where Lansky attempted, unsuccessfully, to live out his life.

Lansky's biggest impact was facilitating the connection between the Italian, Irish, and Jewish mafia at a time when so such bond existed. We twice hear him answer, "I have no knowledge on the subject", when questioned about organized crime. On his death in 1983, Lansky had no convictions - all charges had been dropped. A doctor's diagnosis of terminal lung cancer led him to reach out to an author so that his story could be told. We don't learn much about "Murder, Inc." but we do understand Lansky's commitment to "control the game". Rockaway has delivered an intriguing profile of an enigma from inside the mafia ... and screen vet Keitel makes it all believable.

In Select Theaters & On Demand June 25, 2021.

I am not saying you need a $100 million budget to tell the story of Meyer Lansky, or you must have Tarantino, Spielberg, or Coppola but it would help a lot.

Trying to make a biopic on one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century underworld is a massive undertaking.

First things first - Harvey Keitel is really great. Not just great. He is perfect for the part. It is one of his five best roles.

He is from new york, jewish, tough, pretty much the same age as Lansky was at the time the movie is supposed to take place and is old enough with the nyc street background and wise enough to understand the Lansky character.

The actor playing the younger Lansky is not bad but is not the man for the job - few could be.

The Bugsy siegel character works fine for the early crime scenes but in the vegas scenes he does his best vince vaughn in Swingers Impression and he is about 10 years too young for siegels vegas years though it could have been pulled off with some better acting and directing. A scene of Siegel falling asleep at the bar is not something he would have done. Siegel also wouldnt have showboated in the manner the director depicts. The director ends up making a cartoonish impression of siegel.

The filmmaker also loses a lot of credibility with the Millers Crossing stolen execution scene which is not just a scene lacking any believability but shows a real sloppiness of filmmaking.

This movie was shot in 20 days and it shows. It was rushed together.

A love triangle and hotel story involving the author is a completely unnecessary distraction which turns the film from a biopic of a monumental figure to a late night soap drama on the oxygen channel.

The movie somewhat recovers from its pitfalls through the power of Lanskys story. Much of the general storyline is true though the amount of liberties taken such as the millers crossing execution scene are too big of a distraction.

The maranzano showdown also takes liberties with what is known. The director also fails to detail the importance of the moment or that Maranzano was the biggest boss of the time.

Many of the scenes in the film are just made up though others are credible.

One great part of the movie is the jewish attacks on the nazis which is little known today but was factual.

The movie also does a good job in explaining lanskys assistance to the us government in rooting out nazi spies which is very important to the story.

This movie is a more realistic depiction of lansky then some other movies and shows have done.

While Keitel does a great job in his portrayal, it feels too much at times like the younger version is too much Hymen roth. Roths version of the Lansky character had too many elements which were not accurate. For example he had a tough Rugged baritone voice which instilled fear and demanded respect not the squeakiness that the younger lansky version shown here and in the roth version and other versions.

There are two great supporting acting performances in this film - david james elliot who is the government agent hounding lansky and anna sophia robb who plays lanskys wife.

Robb is a real revelation here and is an actress to look out for if you are unfamiliar.

My Other main criticism is most of the violent scenes are just not believable and were more interested in gore.

The depiction of murder inc as an afterthought is a fatal flaw as it is integral to the lansky story. This should have been central to the story. Instead it is treated like the orks in lord of the rings with a saturday afterrnoon cartoon feel.

The prohibition era is essentially glossed over. Except for a card room scene and the meeting of his wife and luciano.

What we have here is a major error of trying to combine a story about a reporter who interviewed lansky and whose stories may or may not be partially fictional and a story of one of the most impactful gangsters which is given equal treatment to the reporter.

Consider for a moment all of the time godfather 2 spent on the cuba scenes when our story is supposed to be about the man who made those cuba scenes happen and instead we get about two minutes of cuba - which is where lansky made his great fortune and lost it.

Basically this film tries to do too much with too little and falls short by rushing through each item as if it were a checklist.

The greatness of Keitel makes this worth watching. As for the story of Lansky, it is a teaspoon mixed with some accuracy, some false tales and some folly but ultimately there is an honest attempt by the director to show the general character of lansky in the manner in which he is believed to have acted. The ending is perfect and that is a big part of the lansky story.

The problem lies in the parts of the film which stray too far from the truth.

Like having a guy in cowboy hat in nyc or visiting an alabama jail to find a magical clue from some southern convict turn the film into a version of con air.

Meyer Lansky was a Jewish immigrant who had an affinity for numbers, and his "business sense" eventually made him one of the most successful crime bosses. The story in this movie focuses on 1981, Lansky was to die in 1983 of lung cancer. But an author, money short, meets with him to gather information to write a book of his life. One provision, what Lansky tells him must remain confidential until Lansky's death, otherwise he wouldn't like the consequences.

Much of the movie is told in flashback form, with a heavy focus on the late 1930s and the 1940s. Harvey Keitel does a remarkably good job as Lansky.

Good movie, gives us a glimpse of the golden days of organized crime during the period that Las Vegas and gambling became big business. My wife skipped, not her kind of movie. I watched it on DVD from my public library.