By Matthew Essary (Twitter: @WheelsCritic)
All figures in history, no matter how noteworthy, were still people. It is sometimes hard, when looking at history books or films, to remember that simple fact. These real people who loom so large in our imaginations were just like us, flesh and blood, eventually greeted by death in the end. Some died heroically, others in tragedy, and the rest simply aged or fell ill and withered away.
One of those historical figures, the notorious gangster Alphonse “Al” Capone, falls into that latter category. He spent the final year of his life sequestered at his Florida estate, suffering from severe dementia, and being monitored by the FBI, who were convinced he was faking his ailments to avoid further imprisonment. This seldom talked about part of his life is the subject of the new film, aptly titled CAPONE, from writer/director Josh Trank (CHRONICLE) and lead actor Tom Hardy (VENOM).
It is clear from Hardy’s earliest moments on screen in CAPONE, why Trank cast him as the titular character. Tom Hardy has long been a fan of characters that allow him to eschew his “heartthrob” image in favor of off-kilter mannerisms, unflattering appearances, and weird accents. In the role of “Fonzo”, as Capone is lovingly called by his family in the film, Hardy has found a persona that satisfies all those creative impulses. He is a sweaty, shuffling, at times disgusting (there is a surprising amount of bodily fluids on display here) mess throughout the film, croaking out his dialogue through an unflattering balding wig and facial prosthetics. Hardy pivots from intimidating to pathetic with ease and all without a trace of movie star ego peering through. Many may dismiss what Hardy had done here as misguided overacting, but it is hard not to admire what he was going for with this portrayal. He understood that these mythic figures, in the end, are achingly fragile; filled with longing and regret, as anyone else would be at the end of their lives.
Trank’s film is, at its heart, an examination of that longing and regret. Capone’s dementia-riddled mind causes his Florida home to feel less like a sun-drenched resort and more like a haunted manor, where the grisly ghosts of his violent past loom heavily over him; unwilling to leave him be. The benefits from those transgressions are also seemingly forever just out of his reach. You see, Capone is certain he stashed a large amount of money away but he cannot focus well enough to remember where exactly he would have hidden it, even with the prodding of his doctor, played by Kyle MacLachlan (TWIN PEAKS), and the FBI. So, now he is trapped by his inability to escape his violent past or improve the future for himself and his loving, long-suffering wife, “Mae” played by Linda Cardellini (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN).
When it seems like he’ll have a brief respite from this torment and paranoia- in the form of a simple fishing trip with his old friend, ”Johnny” played by Matt Dillion (THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY), peace is denied him again when an alligator snatches away his lone catch and the fishing pole with it. A solitary moment of joy destroyed by a monster just below the surface of the water.
Near the end of the film, after a particularly violent outburst, he again comes face to face with an alligator in the lake near his home. There, at that moment, the realization finally sets in. Destruction and death follow him and it will to his last day because the cold-blooded creature interested in only self-preservation has been in him all along and it will never fully rest, no matter how weak his mind and body become.
CAPONE is bleak and, at times, hard to watch. In fact, it edges up to the border of being a full-blown horror film. Josh Trank makes the whole thing more palpable though with confident direction melded with an interesting, dark ambient score from “Run The Jewels” member EL-P. The film is designed to leave the viewer as unsure of its reality as Hardy’s demented, aging gangster. In that respect, CAPONE is brutally effective. It also left me thinking of my own life though, looking back on my regrets and wondering what will be waiting to greet me in my final days. (3/5)
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