Back when "Independent" movies were exploding in the early 90s this little gem came out. Full disclosure, I'm a born, raised & still here native NYC boy & I knew these kinds of people. People in other reviews wonder about where these characters are from? They're from everywhere & this was the real deal back in early 90s. This is before Williamsburg & Greenpoint areas of Bklyn exploded & became gentrified 'beautiful' neighborhoods. Nick Gomez created this movie that kinda spans just a few days, that are probably like many other days in these characters' lives. Edie Falco, Paul Schultze, Peter Greene all before their big roles in the Sopranos, Nurse Jackie & Pulp Fiction for P. Greene ("Bring out the Gimp...Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead.)
Back in the early 90s, Falco & Schultze were working as waiters & bartender at my friend's bar (for real, though not for much longer obviously). Indie movie world was bursting and Nick Gomez was the hot young new director after this movie. I found it totally by chance on some cable system in NJ & showed it to my 20 yr old son. Not sure he appreciated & liked it as much as I did, but I loved the Scorsese/Cassavettes style of exploring the low gritty lives of struggling characters banging their heads against the 'mean streets' of their environment. There's not a load of action in this movie but as other reviewers noted, it feels like your a fly on the wall in these characters' lives for a few days. And for someone who's from this neighborhood, everything feels real, legit & authentic, warts & all. I totally recommend it this to anyone curious about the Indie movie world of early 90s & gritty pre-gentrified Bklyn. Just be warned it's not an action movie but it's xclnt, in my humble opinion...Enjoy.
Plot summary
Jimmy and Jon are a couple of Brooklyn guys who somehow never found their way into workaday society; they never found their way into big-time crime, either.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 18, 2020 at 01:35 AM
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Saw it back in '92, Still love it in 2022
A year in the life of crime (1989) HBO
If you like "Laws of Gravity" you will definitely like "A year in the life of crime (1989)" from HBO. It followed a group of real losers around Jersey City for a year. A must see One of the best documentaries I've ever seen.
I would love to see a follow up to the original HBO version of this movie. It's been about 16 years and I would love to see if any of the original guys from the documentary are alive.
HBO needs to re-release "A year in the life of crime" or do the follow up. I'm sure this has been mentioned a million times in relation to this film so I will end my post here...
Brett
Flawed but fascinating in the cast's performances.
Some nice performances from the cast, as well as an interesting tale of small-time crooks living in Brooklyn...and *gasp* IT ISN'T PREACHY! Hallelujah. The only major complaint I have is that in improvising the dialogue, there's too many instances wherein four or more characters will be conversing with one another but doing so in such a chaotic fashion that you can tell that barely anyone is listening to another character's rant. The attempt to create "hyper-realistic" dialogue actually results in noise that at times becomes incredibly unbelievable, despite what others may perceive to be the way individuals of that particular mindset communicate. 6/10.