‘Capone‘ is a biopic about the famous Chicago gangster Al Capone. It is written, edited, and directed by Josh Trank and released by Redbox Entertainment and Vertical Entertainment.

The once-feared gangster Al Capone (Tom Hardy) is reduced to a drooling shell of himself living in retirement in Florida. He is taken care of by his wife Mae Capone (Linda Cardellini), brother Ralph (Al Sapienza), sister-in-law Rosie (Kathrine Narducci), and younger son Junior (Noel Fisher). His doctor (Kyle MacLachlan) is secretly working with the FBI to find the location of a hidden ten million dollars that Capone supposedly hid away. As more pressure is put on him to reveal the location of the cash, Capone becomes consumed with reconnecting to his older son Tony (Mason Guccione) who often calls, but hangs up before they can talk. Capone beings to lose his grip on reality following a stroke, he fantasizes about meeting his old friend Johnny (Matt Dillon) and has bizarre visions of his past and present colliding.

Josh Trank has been trying to get back on his feet following his disastrous Fantastic Four adaption. A small, indie film about the final days of Al Capone would seem something up his alley. While the conception and the performances are on point, the movie suffers from severe tonal shifts to confusion about the plot.

Let’s start with the performances which were well done. Tom Hardy‘s performance as the aging gangster is good. He works with what he has and does a good job interacting with the supporting cast. Linda Cardellini also does a good job as the longsuffering wife of Capone. You could definitely feel her frustration as Capone’s health worsens.

The problem is not with the concept or even with the idea, the problem is with the tone. The movie could not decide whether or not it liked Capone. In one moment, there would a scene showing his frailty which was clearly meant to garner sympathy, and then there would be a switch to remind us that Capone was a murdering psychopath. Unlike The Irishman, which consistently tried to force you to like its homicidal subject, this film could not decide if it liked him or not.

On another level, there were a few sequences that could have been cut. When Capone has his first stroke, it goes into this long-winded dream sequence that shows different aspects of his criminal career. It felt like it went on forever and when it was over, it made little impact on the story.

Bottom line, Capone has some decent performances and an interesting concept, the movie is hampered by its inconsistent tone and its indecision on its subject.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Strong foul language, Strong violence, Minor sexual content

FAVORITE QUOTE: We don’t say that name here.

Check out the trailer below:

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