Kill The Irishman

Released By: Anchor Bay
Released On: 06/14/2011
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Cast: Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken, Vincent D'Onofrio
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The Film

With all of the mob movies out there, it's surprising that only Chicago, Vegas, and of course, New York receive any publicity. There are other cities in the world with organized crime, and some of them have some pretty noteworthy stories to tell. Such is the case in Cleveland, Ohio, where a union man named Danny Greene waged war on La Cosa Nostra in 60's and 70's. Greene wasn't a vigilante or a crusader for the people, however; he was interested only in furthering his own position and making a name for himself and his Irish companions.

Kill the Irishman is a pretty accurate look at the life of Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson), from his start in the Longshoreman's Union to his violent demise. As a charismatic Irishman, Greene became the President of the Longshoreman's Union on the Cleveland docks and seemed to waste no time getting involved in extortion and other criminal enterprises, gaining favour with local mafia heavies Jack Licavoli and John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio) by cutting them in on some nice shipments arriving at the port. But an expose in the local paper tied Greene in with some pretty major rackets, and he was given a lifetime ban from the Union.

Somehow evading imprisonment for these activities, which many attributed to Greene becoming an informant for the FBI, Danny then became involved with the “Collections Department” for Shondor Birns' (Christopher Walken) loansharking outfit, gaining the trust of Birns and using his clout as a heavy to organize the local garbage collectors. Unfortunately for Greene, the money that he was making in sanitation, combined with a hefty screw-up on a loan from the Gambino Family in New York City, resulted in a contract being put on his head. Rallying his fellow Irishmen, Danny Greene continued to do business for himself and openly challenged the police (Fat Val Kilmer) and mafia to stop him during his frequent interviews with local television stations. With hit contracts and blood vendettas against the majority of the players involved, Cleveland turned into a literal warzone, with bombings and shootings becoming an everyday occurrence.

Kill the Irishman has a lot going for it, primarily the source material. The story of Danny Greene is largely unknown, but very interesting. Keeping fairly true to the facts (a rarity in films based on a true story) is usually a good way to go, and Screenwriters Jonathan Hensleigh and Jeremy Walters have wisely used Rick Porrello's true-crime novel as a basis to tell the story. Hensleigh's direction, film stock, soundtrack, and use of voice-over will strike many as a pretty liberal borrowing from Scorcese's GoodFellas, and you can expect to see the usual assortment of “Mob Film Supporting Cast” members here, but overall, Kill the Irishman is an entertaining flick with some great performances and an intriguing storyline.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Anchor Bay brings Kill the Irishman to Blu-Ray in a 1.78:1 transfer that looks pretty decent. In an effort to make the film look slightly aged (I'm guessing), some of the cinematography looks a little off, but it doesn't appear to be the result of a poor transfer. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is also solid, with good balance of dialogue, sound effects, and soundtrack, with regular use of the surrounds and sub.

There are only two extra features on the disc, one being a Theatrical Trailer. The second supplement, Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of The Irishman is an excellent one-hour documentary on Greene's life, featuring interviews with family, friends, and police, some very graphic film footage, and vintage newsreel clips, some of which were used in the film. Although the running time seems to go by very quickly, it's an informative look at the film's subject matter.

Overall:

It's not the best mob film you're ever going to see, but Kill The Irishman is done competently and pretty thoroughly with a solid entertainment factor; and gets bonus marks for telling a story that hasn't already been told to death in an accurate manner.