Themes: Sibling Relationships, Haunted By the Past, Family Gatherings
Main Cast: Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Vincent Gallo, Isabella Rossellini, Annabella Sciorra, Benicio Del Toro
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Cult figure Abel Ferrara directed this dark, emotional tale of life among the criminal underworld, set in the late 1930s. The Tempio Brothers -- Ray (Christopher Walken), Chez (Chris Penn), and Johnny (Vincent Gallo) -- work with the mob; Ray is the cool and methodical type, Chez is an angry man who tends to fly off the handle, and Johnny is the odd man out, whose work with labor unions has given him a strong interest in socialism. When Johnny is murdered by rival mobster Gaspare (Benicio del Toro), it has a profound effect on his brothers. Ray is determined to seek revenge, even though his wife Jeanette (Anabella Sciorra), realizing a reprisal will only lead to more violence, begs him to reconsider, while Chez begins losing his tenuous grip on reality, causing no small discomfort for his wife Clara (Isabella Rossellini). In time, both brothers are forced to deal with the ugly repercussions of their family's long-standing criminal lifestyle. Chris Penn's performance as Chez earned him the "Best Actor" trophy at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The Funeral feels like The Godfather directed by Ingmar Bergman. Christopher Walken's haunted eyes serve him well in the role of Ray, a Michael Corleone-like gangster who is in turmoil when he begins to realize that he is compelled to act in ways that undermine his own life. Chris Penn is frightening as the boorish, but charming Sonny Corleone-ish brother who slowly succumbs to violent psychosis. These two characters let Ferrara work out his philosophical musings as they grieve over the slain body of their younger brother Johnny, a Fredo-like figure who was not cut out for gangster life. Ferrara had balanced physical and emotional violence with philosophical angst before in Bad Lieutenant, Dangerous Game, and The Addiction, but this film is the most cerebral of the bunch. A truly sad movie, The Funeral will leave the viewer emotionally devastated. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Beth Curtis - Art Director, Annabella Sciorra - Associate Producer, Russell Simmons - Associate Producer, Jay Cannold - Associate Producer, Billy Hopkins - Casting, Ann Goulder - Casting, Randall Sabusawa - Co-producer, Mindy Eshelman - Costume Designer, Noga Isackson - First Assistant Director, Abel Ferrara - Director, Bill Pankow - Editor, Mayin Lo - Editor, Patrick Panzarella - Executive Producer, Michael Chambers - Executive Producer, Joe Delia - Composer (Music Score), Joe Delia - Songwriter, Charles Lagola - Production Designer, Ken Kelsch - Cinematographer, Mary Kane - Producer, Diane Lederman - Set Designer, Rosa Howell-Thornhill - Sound/Sound Designer, Nicholas St. John - Screenwriter
The Funerals, an alt-country collective, hails from Iceland. Comprised of Ragnar Kjartansson (vocals, guitar), Lara Sveinsdottir (vocals), Olafur Jonsson (guitar), Thorgeir Gudmundsson (drums), and Trabant's Thor Grondal (synth) and Vidar Gislason (bass), the Funerals formed in summer 2001. The band was barely three months old when they toured with Neil Strauss, however the experience proved golden. It strengthened the professional unit as well as the musical dynamic. Their debut album, Pathetic Me, appeared on Thule Music in summer 2002. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
The story concerns the funeral of one of three brothers in a family of gangsters that lived in New York in 1930s. It is a film that details the past of the brothers and their families through a series of flashbacks. The film is most notable for its shocking climax.
The film begins with the funeral of one of the three Tempio brothers. These men are violent criminals. Mourning the passage of their beloved brother Johnny are Chez and Ray. Ray is cold and calculating. Chez is hot tempered. Flashbacks show us that Johnny was more sensitive. Exposure to Communist meetings as a spy sway Johnny's opinions. These opinions eventually get him killed.
The killer is rival gangster Gaspare.
Ray and Chez swear revenge. Ray's wife, Jeanette, opposes the campaign of retribution and the violence it will bring, while Chez' wife, Clara, struggles to deal with her husband's obsessive nature.
