BULLETPROOF HEART
A film review by Raymond Johnston
Copyright 1995 Raymond Johnston
Directed by Mark Malone Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Mimi Rogers, Matt Craven, Peter Boyle Written by Gordon Melbourne from a story by the director
There was a time before television that all films were shown as double features. The low budget B films, if they were to be remembered at all, had to make creative use of the left over sets and small non-star cast. B film makers found that instead of expensive action, they were better off offering dramatic tension based in offbeat characters. BULLETPROOF HEART takes the B crime dramas of the Forties and Fifties like HE WALKED BY NIGHT and D.O.A. as its model.
Director Mark Malone masterfully recreates the ambiance of the B-film New York- misty night streets, fancy apartments, the inevitable docks and warehouses. In it he sets forth several people in the throws of inner turmoil: Anthony LaPaglia as the edgy hit man, Matt Craven as a screw up begging for a second chance, Peter Boyle as a middle management mobster and Mimi Rogers as the femme fatale. These character actors play out the events in one night of an emotionally troubled mob hit man. Like several recent crime films, the main thing isn't so much the story as the telling of the story. Since the film is basically a four way character study, all of the performances have to be dead on. Luckily everybody delivers. The cynical banter between the main characters is the center of the film. As the long night progresses and the characters go to stranger and stranger locations, the motivations of the characters are revealed. Some of this revelation includes a fascinating set of flash backs. The simple job of the hit man takes on more complexities as the characters become fully developed and intertwined.
BULLETPROOF HEART is a near perfect recreation of the 1950s film noir mood. If anything, it stays too closely within genre conventions. Ultimately that makes the surprise ending a little predictable. It takes fewer chances than the recent RESERVOIR DOGS or RED ROCK WEST and next to those films it is an 'also ran.' The problem with trying to recreate a B film is the original B films were never supposed to be worth the price of admission on their own. They were thrown in for free with another better film. BULLETPROOF HEART would be a real find for free on cable TV or a good video rental. Standing as a single feature at full admission price, it is for diehard fans of film noir.
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