‘Capone’ tells the story of the notorious titular gangster and how he spends the twilight of his life in a haze due to neurosyphilis, a lifetime of violence catching up to him and increasing paranoia about federal surveillance. We are faced with the decline of the opulent lifestyle that Capone had become accustomed to as he and his family hurdle towards financial downturn.
On paper the aforementioned makes sense. The story is rich with the potential to explore the innermost workings of a man so closely associated with crime and violence and what footprint that may leave on a persons conscience.
However, ‘Capone’ provides a different approach. The film asks us to follow Capones’ physical decline, as he progressively loses his motor functions, and the degeneration of his mental state. The film subjects us to hallucination sequences that are transparent about the guilt and regret Capone may feel about his past.
A particular scene, displaying graphic violence, serves as a stark reminder of the actions carried out by Capone, or his lackeys, to serve as a baseline for why he is not a character to be sympathised. However, the numerous scenes depicting the hardship that the Capone family must endure ask us to consider the situation from another perspective, sending mixed messages towards what kind of story the film is trying to tell.
‘Capone’ rests largely on the shoulders of Tom Hardy playing Al. His performance of a person going through mental decline is at times erratic, as could be expected from someone losing their mind. At times however, it feels like there were one too many takes, and he over-performs in instances where a more toned-down expression of the characters fear and paranoia would have served better to invite the audience to suffer with him in fear of losing his facilities.
The film periodically displays Capone viewing the artwork in his home, inviting us to travel with him into a hallucination. The sequences seem abrupt and seemingly without relating to anything in particular besides Al’s downturn.
Besides a few choppy edits here and there, the story suffers from the use of a few one-off characters. We are introduced to Capones’ son, Junior, played by Noel Fisher, a man compassionate towards his father. Apart from displaying concern the actor is not asked to do much. Matt Dillon portrays Johnny, a character we are introduce to via a scene that exists independently of Capone, however later is revealed to be a figment of Al’s imagination and a victim of his past. Johnny appears in a few scenes, varying from friendly to fear-inducing, yet remaining unclear of the purpose his character serves, lacking a solid thematic throughline.
Throughout the film, we are subject to phone calls to the Capone residence from Tony, played by Mason Guccione, Als’ illegitimate son. During the first call we see him cooperating with the feds to monitor the call. Subsequently only Tony is displayed until at the end he travels to sit with his father in silence. These interactions could serve as an analogy for the film – Tony makes the call, yet is too afraid to say anything. The final scene of Tony and Al solidifies the comparison, as the two sit together without exchanging any words. The scene is set beautifully, but does not express much.
The film plays into Capones paranoia about being under surveillance, letting the character emote to varying degrees towards that fact. He was being monitored, which is revealed fairly early on, thereby circumventing any mystery or keeping the viewers in suspense on if it is only a figment of Capones’ imagination. Here, one of the only detectives to be given a voice, Crawford played by Jack Lowden, really only peaks our interest in the third act and for a couple of scenes, where he faces his superiors and carries out an interview with Capone. It is hard to form any connection with him as his motivations are unclear and he is gone, never to be seen again, before we can form any connection to the character.
Another shortcoming of the film is the misuse of Linda Cardellini. She portrays Mae, Capones’ wife, successfully displaying a strong willed character that has endured a lifetime of concern and worry. Cardellini showcases the commitment Mae has to Capone and allows us to feel the despair and worry her character is experiencing. Yet somehow her character feels underused; Mae could have served more to humanise Al though them interacting in instances besides Als’ medical emergencies and mental episodes.
‘Capone’ director, Josh Trank, may be better known for his previous work on ‘Chronicle’. Unlike the previous film, ‘Capone’ lacked the subtle character exploration that we know Trank is capable of.
Overall the story felt disjointed and muddled, seemingly wanting to evoke the horrors of mental breakdown, in the end making the audience wonder if it served as an example of one rather than a film about it.
Score: 2/4
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