'Hoodlum'
A movie review by Walter Frith
Like any realistic gangster film, 'Hoodlum' contains plenty of gunfire, explosions, confrontations and dirty business deals. Unlike any gangster film I've ever seen, 'Hoodlum' is disappointingly scattershot. That isn't to say its a bad film, it just lacks focus.
Set in New York City during the hey day of the gangster era at the early part of the twentieth century, its main character, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is an ex-con who makes a name for himself when gangsters such as Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia) try and disrupt and strong-arm their way by invading a peaceful numbers running operation run by Madame Queen (Cicely Tyson). The film reportedly tells us at the beginning that this so-called peaceful numbers running operation was undisturbed for a decade until invaded by the forces of Schultz and Luciano but anyone with common sense knows that illegal solicitation involving currency always brings trouble.
Fishburne finds love in a no-nonsense, charity driven and kind hearted woman (Vanessa Williams) but loses her not by death but by the life he chooses.
While authentic looking, 'Hoodlum' is sort of a cross between Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Cotton Club' (1984) and the Coen brothers' 'Miller Crossing' (1990). Like 'The Cotton Club', it spells out the true psychotic nature of Dutch Schultz played in that film by James Remar and has scenes involving the club itself and like the relationship sub plot between Richard Gere and Diane Lane in 'The Cotton Club', this one has the relationship between Fishburne and Williams. Like 'Miller's Crossing', it underlines the loyalty and rivalry relevant to a good crime story.
'Hoodlum' tries to build too much too quickly and rather than focusing on a couple of main characters and making them interesting, it underplays the characters of Luciano, Madame Queen and the film's love interest and chooses to make the bitter war between 'Bumpy' Johnson and Dutch Schultz its main priority.
Director Bill Duke has shown us how gangsters operate rather than telling us anything about who they are. It has an appealing quality to it but unfortunately you don't really feel compelled to give any thought to the characters who die and the ones who live and as it plays out its hand it comes up with little instead of delivering a full house.
OUT OF 5> * * 1/2
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