Snitch (1998) Reviews

• the code of silence

  Ouchywawa11362652004-03-20

  I grew up in this town of Charlestown a very strong irish neighborhood people here call themselves townies. The movie Monument Ave. is about the code of silence this town went through. Its very much like it but there were many more murders and alot more police arrests. Boston wanted to break the Irish Catholic clout in Charlestown and open the town up to new cultures, it never happened but since 2000 the town is only 93% Irish-Townie catholic. Monument Ave. was a very good movie and it explained what it was like here but it was much more violent. Charlestown was and still is a very dangerous town. Like in the movie brothers were killing brothers and people killing each other knowing that people would not tell that they did this, sex and drugs was involved in this alot too. Racism and Loyalty and doing inappropriate things like robbing, shooting, stabbing fighting, drinking etc. was a big thing here to. Kids around Charlestown (Townies) made a book about this called The Piece of Peace. There was 149 murders during the code of silence in Charlestown. Monument Ave. is a good explanation of what happened here. Thats what it was really like. Not like "Southie" which is nothing compared to Charlestown. But Monument Ave. was an exellent movie!

• Monument Avenue really works with it's fine acting and directing

  jonpar2001-08-07

  Monument Avenue is a familiar story that has been done before. However, this film really works due to the fine acting and directing. Ted Demme does an outstanding job developing the characters through his his long and sometimes drawn out dialogue scenes. The cast of Dennis Leary and Famke Janssen are extremely convincing and really make this film better than most of it's kind. Perhaps the small, almost cameo roles played by stars Billy Crudup, Martin Sheen and Jeanne Tripplehorn are what really make this film worth seeing. This is a perfect example of how good directing and acting can make a big difference on a common and somewhat predictable script.

• Above average study of small time Irish American thieves.

  Infofreak2002-10-02

  'Noose' (a.k.a. 'Snitch') is a movie that sneaks up on you. I stumbled across it almost by accident and watched it mainly because of the cast. The late Ted Demme directed, and personally I enjoyed this more than his better known 'Blow'. It contains a few dull spots but overall, it's a pretty interesting and effective look at small time crooks and their attitudes towards family and loyalty. Denis Leary once again proves he has some genuine talent as an actor, not just as a comedian. He basically makes this movie, though Ian Hart ('Backbeat') is also very good. Leary's co-star in 'Jesus Son' Billy Crudup appears in a small supporting role. It's a pity they didn't share more on screen time together because they make a memorable duo, as anyone who has seen 'Jesus Son' will agree. Colm Meaney ('Con Air') makes an intimidating bad guy, and Famke Janssen ('X-Men') is not only astonishingly beautiful but she is also believable as a troubled local caught between Leary and Meaney. It was also good to see the highly underrated John Diehl ('Motorama') as one of Leary's buddies and Martin Sheen ('Badlands') has a nice turn as a frustrated local cop. The cast here is sometimes better than the occasionally predictable script, but on the whole this movie is worth watching. Above average.

• A good film about thugs

  PersianPlaya4082006-07-15

  The chronicles of soldier level (the lowest level of thugs in the mafia) of the Irish mob gang is directed well by Demme. Although its not flashy, it tells a semi-simple story in a natural and realistic manner. Leary does well in the lead as Bobby O Grady who is a member in Jackie's(Meaney) gang but things go bad when Jackie the boss kills one of Bobby's friends. This film is written well by Mike Armstrong and Denis Leary (uncredited according to IMDb). I liked how Demme went about it, much different from other films i saw of his which were "Blow", "Life", although in some ways i could see similarities between this and his 96' film "Beautiful Girls". After viewing this, i think that Demme was not a bad director, of course not on the level of his uncle Jonathan Demme. Anyhow this film good, if u like mafia or movies about thugs (i do) then u will like this. IMDb rating: 6.3 my rating: 8/10

• Great Character Study of Small Time Criminals

  Jakealope2005-08-11

  I think this movie was much better than others in this genre, like "Mean Streets" or much ballyhooed and similar location, "Mystic River". The characters and dialog are A1, Dennis Leary really impressed me. Colm Meaney was truly a meaney and not his Star Trek O'Brien nice guy non-com role. It was more character than plot driven and is lean on the violence, so shoot 'em up freaks will be disappointed. I borrowed this from the library cause I never remembered this one when it debuted cause it had no publicity. Truly a gem in this genre and won't disappoint you. It has a great insight into the Irish Boston working class world without exploiting it or lapsing into sentimentality.