Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Gotti

This film is not the terrible shit show that it’s being painted as. I have so much to say about his film which is a decent and enjoyable film that sure isn’t as good as many other mafia or gangster flicks out their but it’s decent. Now this film has received a lot of negative reviews even a 0 on rotten tomatoes which I do think is a little harsh now I’m not saying it’s an amazing film but I’m also not saying it’s a terrible one either I just think it’s been treated unfairly by many critics. 

First off I’ll say the things I liked first which is the best part of the film which is John Travolta’s fantastic performance as John Gotti. He is the highlight of the film and the driving force of the film giving a incredible piece of work onscreen that I haven’t seen from him since his work on American Crime Story. The film also has a great cast who all give great work as well the acting in the film is strong but it’s John that comes out on top. It also is a very solid bio pic which chronicles this mans life in a way that kept me interested and engaged with the film to the end. 

Secondly, the flaws in the film that I do have are a few. First off since this film is a bio pic and it’s about one of the most notorious criminals in history you have to be accurate in your depiction which it dose but also walk the fine line of making sure your not glorying him for what he did but showing the truth. The film struggles at parts as it dose paint him for who he truly was but also glories him to an extent which can rub people the wrong way. I personally thought if they stuck to the facts and instead of making him out to be this bigger then life guy it would of panned out better with the critics and in general. 

The other issue I had with the film was the pacing. The pacing dose come to a stop a few times in the film which sucks because you get into a scene or what’s happening in it and then they slow it down to show something that could of easily been cut out. So the pacing is a issue as some scenes just feel as filler and not actually important to the flow of the film.

The last issue I had was the lack of Kelly Preston I know seems like I’m nitpicking but hear me out. We see her every now and then in the film but when you see her in the film she’s either crying or yelling which tells me nothing about who this woman was or what she was like only as in loud and overly emotional which is what the film paints her as which I don’t see as fair. If they gave her more screen time to show her and let the audience find out more about her I would of felt a lot better instead of her just falling to the background. 

Finally, Gotti is a enjoyable film and is one of the better crime films I’ve seen in recent time that stands out due to the great performance provided by Travolta and the engaging story told at hand I would definitely recommend this film.

This film chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most notorious criminals of all time John Gotti 

Rated R : for strong violence and pervasive language 

John Travolta : Travolta shines as the title role in this film! John has shown many times he is capable of giving a great performance when he wants to in such films as Pulp Fiction and even work on the small screen from American Crime Story and be brings it again here with Gotti. In the film he plays John Gotti the  bigger then life criminal who lived and died by the crime life. The way John plays him onscreen is incredibly compelling to watch as he shows his family side and his sensitive side but also shows his more aggressive side as well which I thought was great and I’ll explain why. When he shows his more emotional side you feel it and you believe it and it is heartbreaking when Travolta shows it onscreen and then the next he can be terrifying and full of rage smacking people around and the range and layers he shows of the man he’s playing but also as an actor is astonishing. When I saw him onscreen I didn’t see Travolta I saw John Gotti he looked like him he walked like him and he talked like him he fully immersed himself in the role fully embodying the character to one hundred and ten percent. He just disappears in the role theirs parts when he’s older toward the end of the film and he looks old and weak and the makeup is incredible you wouldn’t for a moment think that was Travolta that’s how good it was. The moment he came onscreen he lit it up with his strong acting chops he could convey great emotion just from a look on his face he is terrific in this film from start to finish. He shows this man for who he was and dose it justice giving one of his greatest performances he’s ever given he is truly captivating in the film giving a truly special performance. 

Kevin Connolly : Kevin gave a decent job at directing. Kevin is best know for his work in front of the camera for Entourage and I have not seen any work from him directing wise prior to seeing this film. After seeing what he’s capable of he’s an alright director. Why I say that is because he has great moments of strength here and weakness and I’ll explain. He was able to tell the narrative in a engaging way that kept you watching and also by getting a great performance from Travolta in the process. Also he makes the film stand out then most crime bio pics which he dose in a great way. But where he falls flat is his ability to slow it down he drama so much information into such a small runtime if the film was 2h and thirty minutes that’s fine because that’s what another crime bio pic suffered from Black Mass. it suffered from cramming as much as it could into a 2 hour window and it moves so quickly that you aren’t able to process all of it. Since it is based on a mans life that is true it would of benefit from being longer so that it didn’t feel rushed which it dose. Also at times it feels as he’s glorying the man for what he did which didn’t feel right and didn’t sit well with others and if he showed more to him that would of been better instead of making him out to be this celebrity. But overall as a whole Kevin provides a mixed bag behind the lens.