edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

Upcoming

July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A

Meeting of Pols

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"GOP heavyweight James Baker III and Democratic strategist Ron Klain couldn't have been more at odds than they were during the disputed Bush v. Gore 2000 election battle in Florida," writes Politico's Jeffrey Ressner. "So it's no small irony that as HBO's telefilm Recount (debuting 5.25) was being readied, the two men both signed off on a completely fictional scene in which their characters meet briefly on an airport tarmac."

(l.) James Baker; (r.) Ron Klain

I'm glad Strong made it up. The scene isn't confrontational or slam-bam, but it hits the right note. It happens at the finale, and after all the haggling and spinning over vote counts for the previous two hours, the viewer is looking for some kind of reflective sum-up. What you get is a few choice words between rivals -- a formal but friendly hello, a foreshadowing of dark things to come from Klain (Kevin Spacey) and a suggestion by Baker (Tom Wilkinson) that there's no right or wrong and that it all boils down to loyalty.

I enjoyed that director Jay Roach made sure that Wilkinson closely resembles Baker, which is mainly accomplished by his wearing a gray-hair wig. It's a little odd, therefore, that despite the real Klain (above) obviously having a decent head of hair, Roach decided to let Spacey play it with his own sparse follicles, which have been retreating like the French Army out of Russia since the days of American Beauty. Why not wig out if it creates a slightly closer resemblance?

Here again is my 4.30 review of Recount.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 07, 2008 at 12:09 PM

comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

Looks like Wilkinson was ace casting and Spacey was totally not. I imagine he pulls it off though.

Posted by BurmaShave at May 7, 2008 12:53 PM

comment #2

Richardson says ...

"Why not wig out if it creates a slightly closer resemblance?"

Because what would that leave for you to respond to?

Posted by Richardson at May 7, 2008 01:01 PM

comment #3

actionman says ...

Just got my screener today; hopefully watching this tonight or tomorrow.

Posted by actionman at May 7, 2008 01:11 PM

comment #4

BurmaShave says ...

Yeah I think the wig would have brought back horrible memories of his hairpiece in EDISON FORCE.

Posted by BurmaShave at May 7, 2008 01:51 PM

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

spacey always takes so much heat when he wears a piece that it wouldn't surprise me to learn it was his call.....
it certainly didn't affect his performance as i don't think he's ever been better....

Posted by scooterzz at May 7, 2008 03:01 PM

comment #6