God's Pocket (2014)

Very Cool!!!

Simply A Masterpiece

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I really enjoyed Hoffman, Jenkins, Turturro, etc. at an individual level. I enjoyed the set detail, lighting, and mood created and really felt as if I were having a drink in a Devil's Pocket dive bar in the 80's.The movie as a whole and plot however, were completely forgettable. I was actually quite pleased to see "Old Lucy" knock that horrible, racist, knife wielding kid over the head with a pipe. It actually felt like justice as it could be argued the murder was in self- defense and involuntary at its worst.Regardless, from that point on, I could not connect with the plot of Jeanie Scarpato seeking justice. I could not connect with the overly contrived "feeling" that Jeanie had about her dirt bag son getting killed as if getting accidentally killed in an industrial yard is completely unbelievable?! Not too mention that the rest of the film felt disjointed, without purpose and lacking in realism.At the end of the movie, I felt A) glad it was over and B) disappointment that we won't see Hoffman's incredible talent for acting again.

A found this on Netflix streaming movies. I was anxious to see one more PS Hoffman movie.First a note about the title. There is a 3 square block area of mostly Irish-Americans in South Philadelphia called "Devil's Pocket", said to have originated with a local priest saying the neighborhood kids were so bad they would steal a chain out of the devil's pocket.So for this fictional story they used the name "God's Pocket" but it is a loose reference to the same area. The story involves men who steal to make their businesses profitable. For example Philip Seymour Hoffman as Mickey Scarpato runs a meat market but in one scene he and his friends intercept a refrigerated truck to steal the sides of beef. They don't seem like crooks, it is as if that is just a way to do business.The running theme in this movie involved Mickey's stepson mouthing off at work in his construction job and being killed by an older man hitting him with a pipe on the back of the head. Everyone lies and says it was an accident, a piece of equipment swung and hit him. But the mother, Christina Hendricks as Jeanie Scarpato, just "feels" that a cover-up in involved.This gets the local newspaper man involved, and he gets involved in more than the story. Then Mickey has an issue with the local mortician who convinces Jeanie that he needs the $6000 casket, for which Mickey can't pay. So the body ends up in the back of Mickey's refrigerated truck until he can somehow raise the cash.What makes the movie worthwhile is the script and the acting. It is a madcap, quirky, somewhat dark comedy, where the con men have to run off to Florida in the end and hope the cops never find them.

The synopsis of this film is inaccurate. Mickey (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) does not try to cover up the death of his stepson. He actually does not care how he died or who might be responsible. He simply wants to get the funeral arranged, done and paid for to please his grieving wife. This proves much more difficult than he anticipates. His wife pressures him to find out what really happened so he gets some pretty nasty people involved. The setting is perfect, the characters believable and the film kept me entertained. This movie is definitely a black comedy/drama. Not for everyone, but if your sense of humor leans in that direction and you are not squeamish about profanity and blood, you should enjoy it.

I caught this movie off Showtime the other night, and I see this finished filming only a few weeks before the death of it's star, Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film is set in a working class South Philly neighborhood based on what is actually called "Devil's Pocket", Philadelphia. PSH stars as a blue collar worker in the 1970s, whose stepson is killed in a mysterious accident, and then he tries to cover things up. But things become difficult when a reporter (Richard Jenkins) won't let the story die. I see that this movie is listed as a "black comedy" at Wikipedia, which, other than the drunken antics of Jenkins' character, I really couldn't see. I did like how this community is painted as an isolated world where outsiders are tantamount to alien invaders, and *possible SPOILER* the scene at the end when reporter Jenkins faces the people of the community he wrote a scathing story upon- it's no less than a deadly confrontation. Hoffman is great in one of his last film roles. Plus, look for some other good performances from John Turturro, Christina Hendricks and Eddie Marsan.Please check out all my reviews, plus lots of good interaction and group discussion about anything/everything movies/TV/entertainment at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/movie.holiks/Email us at:[email protected] don't settle for second best!- lots of copy-cat and imitation groups out there, but "the REAL movie-holiks" is THEE original one!