Romanzo Criminale (2005)

one of my absolute favorites!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I've seen the series, read the book, decided to give the film a shot. I wondered how they would be able to tell a story spanning 20 years in a 2 hour film. They couldn't.A lot of movies are based on events - a bank robbery, a kidnapping, a terrorist attack averted, a hijacking, you get the point. With gang movies, a lot of the drug stuff is condensed to a montage, with the focus being on the gang politics instead. This movie tried to do everything - two kidnappings, one terror plot, a gang's rise, gang politics, the business of the gang, gang wars (with rival gangs) and a court trial. And if that's not enough, the film wanted to show the side of law enforcement too, showing the detective trying to bust the gang. 20 years in 2 hours 30 minutes. There is a montage every 5 minutes, actually, most things are shown in quick cuts + music montages - the gang introduction, kidnapping, Terrible, drug business, Moro affair, Bologna... I stopped counting after that.The choice of casting is terrible (no pun intended). Terrible, one of the scariest people in the TV show, is shown to be a wimp, crying in front of the gang. Accorsi is a good actor, but terrible as Scialoja. He's guilty of overacting here. Screaming and waving his arms around like a cartoon Italian. Freddo, the best character in the TV show, was ruined as well. In the TV show, he's a deep and troubled character, taking you along with him in an existential crisis. In this film, pretty-boy Kim Rossi Stuart plays Freddo and actually says "Why do you hate me, huh? Is it because I'm pretty?" Seriously. Libano is a criminal mastermind on the show, on the film he's an idiot who doesn't know how to handle a gun.If you didn't know the actors, you would think that this is the low budget film remake of the TV show. The production values are low. The show looks cinematic, here, this looks like a TV film.This film fails in comparison to the show. It's less of a film and more of a collection of spoilers for a great TV show. Even if you have no interest whatsoever in the show, skip this film. It's not worth your time, unless you want to see a film about a gangster drug lord called "The Terrible" crying and wimpering in front of a boy who says "Don't hate me because I'm pretty."

This is a fictional crime story based on the exploits of the infamous "Banda Della Magliana", which terrorized the city of Rome for two entire decades. The movie is OK and it features an all-star cast and a famous director, but if you really want to see the same story brought to a much much higher level (not to mention going way deeper into the details), I strongly recommend you watch Romanzo Criminale The Series (two seasons of 12 episodes each), which is now available on Netflix, from other online sources and on DVD's.The "condensed" story line of the movie is at times confusing and fails to successfully put the story into its historical context. Really, two hours aren't nearly enough to explain the back story and the historical references, especially to someone who didn't grow up in Italy --and particularly in Rome-- in the 1970's and 80's. So, I watched the movie years ago when it was released, and I was left with so many open questions that were only answered to my complete satisfaction once I watched the series (and yes, there are some continuity issues between the two productions, so don't think of the series as complimentary to the movie but rather as a complete retell.) I know that I'm actually ending up reviewing the series here more than the movie, but really if you watch the series, then you will find that the movie is just a brief summary of the story without much character development, despite the more famous cast and director (incidentally, Mr.Placido is credited as a creative consultant in the series.) The series, on the other hand, is one of the best small-screen productions I've ever seen, really quite up to the level of outstanding crime dramas like the Sopranos or Breaking Bad. I would rate the movie 6/10 and the series 10/10.

As the history of modern (1970-95) Italy plays out - the kidnapping of Aldo Mora, the Bologna bombing etc. - a ruthless gang of outsiders are successfully muscling in on Rome's lucrative drug and gambling rackets. Meanwhile, a hard-nosed detective is tracking their activities, seeking evidence to put them away. And lurking even deeper in the background are State black ops figures who may or may not be manipulating both the criminals and the events themselves.I was expecting the sort of cheap crime exploitation movie that proliferated in Italian cinema back in the 70s, but this is a different, much more ambitious and better type of movie. Crime Novel is structured very much like an Italian version of American Gangster. It has the same intimate yet gritty feel, the same long slow story arc, playing out over years against a background of world events; the dedicated cop who seems like the only police official who sees his duty as catching criminals rather than taking bribes; and drug dealers who see themselves as businessmen providing a service rather than villains, and most of time they are. The focus is clearly on the gang. They grew up together in the streets. Crime and friendship are what holds them together. They have strong loyalties to those closest to them but can be ruthless to those who oppose them. Individually, they have frailties, but together they are formidable. The script is structured to provide each of the central characters with plenty of screen time, and its strong dialogue and intimate tone create very multi-dimensional and mostly sympathetic portraits.The resulting movie is very watchable and a worthy companion piece to movies like Carlito's Way, Scarface and American Gangster. Recommended.

... and by that, I mean a celebrated actor with a string of macho roles (Plachido's would be Corrado Cattani from "La Piovra") who becomes a director and makes well-crafted but unimaginative, by-the-book, predictable movies.In this category, "Romanzo Criminale" easily takes the cake from "Gran Torino", taking on board every cinematic cliché it can. I hope someone catalogs them all; let me get the ball rolling with (a) Prostitute With A Heart Of Gold, (b) Lyrical Hero Dying On Church Steps, Viewed From Above, (c) Lyrical Hero's Girlfriend Not Knowing About His Life Of Crime, Heartbroken But Forgiving, after (d) Lyrical Hero Writes To Her From Prison Cell Every Day, (e) Lyrical Hero Suffering From a Fatal Disease That Does Nothing To Reduce His Smoking Looks, etc.The reason that I remember Ice's story line best is that it's most heavily coated in cheese, and evokes the closest association with the films that "Romanzo Criminale" reminded me of - Russian "Brigada" and "Bumer". (Ice is a male-model version of Vladimir Vdovichenko's character in either). It can't be good when you see a 2008 film that feels derivative compared to a 10-year old Russian TV series, itself a cliché-ridden low-IQ wannabe. Oh Michele Plachido, why didn't you hire a real screenwriter? At least he did a great job on casting; the actors (and especially actresses - Anna Mouglalis, who has the more interesting role, is a stand-out) are all great, elevating a run-of-the-mill film to a higher level.