Hands up time,
I have never seen an episode of the critically acclaimed TV series Mad Men, there you are I’ve admitted it!
But I do know that it’s set in the 1960’s and its about an advertising agency,
and of course I’m aware of some of the actors that are involved including John
Slattery and the rather attractive redhead Christina Hendricks. The reason I mention this is twofold, firstly
Slattery has now directed and adapted his first feature film, Gods
Pocket (2013) with Hendricks taking the main female lead. It is based
on a novel by Pete Dexter who was also responsible for writing and incidentally
adapting, Paperboy
(2012) for the big screen.
Set in 1978 Gods
Pocket is a run down district of Philadelphia. An area that seems to
accommodate the very underside of humanity, if there not spending there time in
the street corner bar there running wee crooked scams for the local ‘connected’
hood Sal Cappi. That is until Jeanie Scarpato (Hendricks) son Leon, gets killed
in mysterious circumstances in the construction yard where he works. Jeanie is
married to Mickey (the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman) who is Leon’s
stepfather and who we first see highjacking a meat truck with Arthur Capezio
known as Bird (John Turturro) and Sal. Mickey, who was not born in Gods Pocket
and therefore will always be an incomer, will do anything to please his
beautiful wife so when she asks him to find out how her rather nasty drug
addicted racialist son died, she does not believe it was an accident, he sets
out with the help of Bird and Sal to investigate the events leading up to her
boys demise. When the journalist Richard Shellburn (the scene stealing Richard
Jenkins) hears about Leon’s death he requests an interview with Jeanie for the
local paper, on meeting her he immediately falls in love! Meanwhile Mickey is
arranging a funeral, with the local undertaker Smilin’ Jack Moran (British
actor Eddie Marsan) but is having problems raising the $5000 to keep Jeanie
happy!
This is an
absolutely cracking movie that should not be missed, if you have not seen it at
the cinema then you will have to wait for the DVD release in December 2014. But
believe me its well worth it and not just to see Philip Seymour Hoffman in one
of his last films but also to enjoy the clever casting, even in the smaller
roles, that enables the portrayal of some terrific characters. American movies always seem to succeed when
they show realistic situations and include people that don’t subscribe to the
American dream! A worthy debut from John Slattery.
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