'Capone' review: A mobster's dull twilight years
Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment
As an actor, Tom Hardy has always prided himself in creating unique characters regardless of the movie they appear in. From his larger-than-life personas in “Venom” and “The Dark Knight Rises” to the understated turns in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Mad Max: Fury Road”, there’s always something captivating when Hardy is onscreen. But his latest film, “Capone”, unfortunately proves that talent can only take you so far when the other puzzle pieces around you aren’t firing on all cylinders.
On paper, playing the legendary mobster Al Capone fits into Hardy’s wheelhouse perfectly, and the fact that the film focuses on his twilight years in 1947 make the role that much juicier. It presents a different challenge for the chameleon actor and it’s a side of Capone we haven’t seen onscreen. Anyone who has heard the many years of gossip or seen “The Untouchables” knows the side of Al Capone that existed before he was jailed for tax evasion. This is the aftermath of that blaze of glory: the darker and lonelier side of a decrepit old man released from jail due to poor health and living out the rest of his days in mental isolation. He has family surrounding him but all is not right upstairs. The once feared gangster is slowly losing his marbles while the FBI keeps a close watch outside his gated Florida estate. They think it’s all a ruse to stay out of jail, but the family fears the opposite.
That premise shows strength in “Capone’s” earlier scenes, especially when we see Hardy playing with kids at a Thanksgiving dinner as if he were reenacting Marlon Brando’s last scene in “The Godfather”. He’s goofing around and being jovial, but we can see the family show signs of concern. The old man mumbles, yells and loses control of his bowels in a matter of minutes and that’s before “Capone” withdraws into a mediocre act of repetition. The film’s first act is strong, but it never moves beyond Capone’s A-B-C mannerisms of confusion, yelling and loss of bodily functions. These are strange notes for Hardy to keep hitting throughout the movie, making “Capone’s” shortcomings as a film that much more frustrating.
“Capone” was written, edited and directed by Josh Trank whose uneven resume includes “Chronicle” and 2015’s “Fantastic Four”. His latest is more akin to the latter but shows signs of promise in its use of stylistic choices primarily in the first third. Sadly, the film is way too bloated at close to two hours that feel like four, and it squanders a solid cast, which in addition to Hardy also includes Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon and Kyle MacLachlan. “Capone” is a repetitious chore to sit through with small glimmers of hope amounting to very little excitement.
Rating: C-
“Capone” is available to stream on video on demand starting May 12.
