Thoroughly expectations defying, which by now is no secret. But it has a lot more going on than that, The story is involving, if strained in it's weirdness at a few points. Cage is excellent (again, subverting expectations) and Alex Wolff is also terrific, playing a character of constant evolution. Movie is visually sturdy and lacking in annoying tics.
Still, it was kinda clear this was a feature debut, and I really could've done without that closing song.
Flirts with the ridiculous in a manner that I totally support, though not everything worked for me. Like the Black Skulls biker gang for instance, who were just a little too over the top in a movie that is spectacularly not subtle in brandishing its influences ("Don't you look at me!") and in making its associations.
On the other side, the Children of the New Dawn are just creepy as fuck, blending the seedy, the pathetically lame, and the potential…
A highly accomplished student film by Scorsese that establishes one of the director’s major themes while giving a nice glimpse into the influences that shaped him.
Specifically, the theme is the Criminal Life, and the influences range from the French New Wave (particularly Truffaut; I was reminded of both Shoot the Piano Player and Jules and Jim), classical American cinema (the movie both spoofs and pays hommage to the gangster film, and there’s also a musical number looking forward to…
