Entertaining and slightly different gangster film

In the Knockaround Guys, Matty Dermaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of infamous mobster Benny Chain (Dennis Hopper). Matty tries to establish an honest life, but when he’s turned down for a yet another job thanks to his known mob connections, Matty decides to ask dad and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) for a job in the family business interests. Matty passes on the favour to his friends–all childhood friends Matty knows through his mob connections. Soon, Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) is flying a plane across country with a bag full of cash–$500,000 to be exact.

Unfortunately, Marbles, who isn’t exactly a model of grace under pressure, is separated from the bag in Montana, and soon Matty has some fast explaining to do. Matty–along with his friends Johnny Marbles, Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli), and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel) descend on the tiny remote Montana town with the plan to get the money back before Benny Chain is held responsible for its loss.

I really enjoyed this film. I like gangster films, but I find that most of them seem heavy on violence and light on the plot, logic, and acting. One very fresh approach this film used was to stress the Italian mobsters at work in the Montana town. Some of the very best scenes occurred when Matty and his friends stumped by the seeming disappearance of the money, slowly and methodically devise a plan to rattle the natives. The natives’ response to the ‘tough guys’ is also a good part of this film. Matty and his friends are used to a certain amount of infamy and privilege that opens doors for them–how this translates to the barren, cowboy landscape of Montana is another matter. Matty and his friends are rather a motley bunch–they lack the credibility–with the exception of Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel)–and downright rottenness that their parents cultivated.

Incidentally, the role of Taylor Reese is a good one for Vin Diesel–as an actor, Vin Diesel is a lot more than muscle and tattoos. Pitch Black and Boiler Room showcased the sort of performances Vin Diesel is capable of, and I was pleased to see him in a role that allowed for another excellent performance. From directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien.