reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/21/85)
I'm afraid I'd heard too much praise of "Prizzi's Honor" by
the time I went to see it. I'd heard it touted as the second
coming of "The Maltese Falcon", whereas, at best, it's the second
coming of "Beat the Devil". "Prizzi's Honor" (from 20th Century
Fox) is a good movie, not a great one, so don't go into it ex-
pecting too much. If you do, you are apt to be disappointed,
which would be an unfortunate reaction to a film which is really
a lot of fun.
"Prizzi's Honor" is a satire laced with black humor, a com-
bination not to everyone's tastes. Director John Huston extracts
the picture's best laughs from murder and blackmail, and the cen-
tral theme is that, rhetoric aside, the Mafia is a business.
Honor and family all go by the boards when enough money is at
risk, despite self-serving claims that preservation of honor and
family are the issue. I doubt if many people really believed
otherwise, but the mythology of the sanctity of the Mafia family
introduced in "The Godfather" may have a residual life in the
back of some minds. "Prizzi's Honor" sets out to wipe out any
such beliefs.
The story concerns a Mafia hit man (Jack Nicholson) who
works for the Prizzis, the most powerful of the New York fami-
lies. Nicholson suddenly falls in love with a woman (Kathleen
Turner) glimpsed at a family wedding. Obsessed with her, he
hunts her down, only to discover that she is equally in love with
him. Unfortunately, she proves to have some secrets which are ex-
tremely inconvenient, to say the least. Family business begins
to conflict with family business, if you get my drift. To go
into more detail would spoil some of the surprises, which, re-
grettably, have already been leaked in the trailer and in most
reviews of this film. None the less, I will resist the tempta-
tion to follow the trend, and leave them to the viewer to discov-
er fresh, if possible. (Towards which end, if you haven't yet
read any other reviews of "Prizzi's Honor", I strongly advise you
to see it first, as most reviewers are not as circumspect as I.)
Despite the fact that "Prizzi's Honor" is loaded down with
plot, is plot heavy, in fact, it's really an actor's piece. The
finest moments of the film do not arise from the twists and turns
of story which weigh down the second half of the film, but from
delightful character bits turned in by the superb cast. Nichol-
son heads the list. This is one of his finest roles, a sure Os-
car candidate, particularly since it's off his usual track.
Charley the hit man is a thoroughly Brooklyn thug who, while not
quite as dumb as he looks, is certainly no tower of intellect.
Neither is he ruggedly independent, Charlie is a company man,
first and foremost, the sort who can be trusted to do as he is
told, with no moral compunctions. Huston allows us to forget,
every so often, that Nicholson makes his living killing people,
but only so that he can sneak up on us to catch us sympathizing
with a consciousless killer. Nicholson abets him mightily, mak-
ing the hit man an easy figure to like, in the way that one rath-
er condescendingly likes a moderately dim dog. His thick Brook-
lyn accent and aggressively outthrust upper lip, along with a
slightly glazed look in the Nicholson eyes that usually flash
with wicked intelligence, cause us to forget his business just
long enough to feel guilty about our sympathy for a vicious hood
with rather few redeeming features.
Kathleen Turner is also exceptional as Nicholson's love,
though her part is less flashy and is compromised with some in-
credible stupidity near the end of the story. Her cool, aristo-
cratic manner has a delightful way of slipping under pressure to
reveal the girl from a lower class Polish family who has come a
long way on lots of brains and very few scruples. Turner is
becoming one of my favorite actresses. She is willing to stretch
and take chances in a way that many performers will not.
As is the manner of Huston films, the supporting cast is ex-
cellent. Casting has been one of Huston's strongest points
throughout his career, and it still serves him well in "Prizzi's
Honor". Particularly well chosen is William Hickey, who plays
the cadaverous head of the Prizzi family. Hickey is practically
a walking death's head, a suitable symbol of the utter moral
decomposition of his family business. He is definitely an Oscar
candidate in the supporting actor category. Angelica Huston,
John Huston's daughter, also makes a strong impression as
Hickey's granddaughter, a "dishonored" woman who once had a thing
going with Nicholson. Her continuing lust for the hit man is a
major spur to the plot, and Huston does a fine job with a part
basically lacking in sympathy. None of Angelica Huston's previ-
ous performances have been nearly this good, including a part in
one of her father's films. Here, her tremendous height and almost
disturbingly strong features work to good advantage, and she finds
the way to make the character real and understandable. Robert Loggia
and John Randolph also make good impressions as leading figures in
the Prizzi family.
John Huston directs with a good deal more interest than he
showed in "Annie". (Surely one of the most bizarre choices of
directors in recent memory; if Ray Stark wanted a veteran direc-
tor, why not get Stanley Donen, who everyone knows can direct mu-
sicals?) He's in complete control of the first half of the film,
with the result that this portion of "Prizzi's Honor" is utterly
delightful. Somehow, though, the plot complexities screenwriters
Richard Condon and Janet Roach force on him in the second half be-
gin to wear Huston down. The plot twists aren't crisp enough,
and Huston fails to leave the sense of satisfaction which follows
a perfectly resolved scene. As Huston's career has progressed,
his interest in story as such seems to have declined in favor of
examination of character. His most satisfying recent films, such
as "Fat City" and "Wise Blood" were light on plot but long on
character. The unlamented "Phobia" and "Victory" had no real
characters, and Huston's direction seemed disinterested.
"Prizzi's Honor" is a typically well made Hollywood film.
Alex North contributes a score with lots of borrowings from clas-
sic Italian music. The score works quite well, but one can't
give North many points for inventiveness. Andrzej Bartkowiak's
photography is reminiscent, at times, of the shadows and earth
colors of "The Godfather", probably deliberately, but shuns the
richness of that film's color scheme. Bartkowiak gives us a
clearer view of the Mafia, less romanticized, which is in keeping
with the general tone of the film. The production design is
careful, a non- intrusive evocation of a recently passed period.
"Prizzi's Honor" definitely deserves to be seen, yet it is
not the masterpiece some claim. It's a solid addition to
Huston's credits, and a welcome change from the mindless slam-
bang action we can expect for much of the summer. Some delight-
ful performances are the main attraction, followed by a few very
clever lines and some nicely arranged comic bits. There is little
explicit sex or violence, another change of pace from the usual
standard. Huston's craftsmanship is careful throughout, and in-
spired in places. Overall, I'd rate "Prizzi's Honor" as easily
the best film of what has been, so far, a rather disappointing
summer. I hope for better things from some of the later releases.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
soon to be reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reihersrt@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/22/85)
Peter may have found fault with this film; I liked it a lot. Far and away the best film I've seen recently, certainly the best Hollywood film out lately. Loved Angelica Huston in her role. I expected a rather lackadaisical performance, but she was quite powerful, and helped the movie rather more than one would expect from her role. Liked the scoring in one particular scene: When Charlie is icing Moxie, the shot is of the outside of the garage and the music builds to a thunderous climax...and then there is a silence of about 5 seconds before the gunshot. Great work. -- Scott Turner
dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o) (06/24/85)
> Loved Angelica Huston in her role. I expected a rather lackadaisical > performance, but she was quite powerful, and helped the movie rather more > than one would expect from her role. I'd have to agree that Angelica did a fantasic job. She was much more impressive than Kathleen Turner and Nicholson. She is only unnoticed because she fits in so well. Turner is curiously subdued in this movie, a marked to her other recent films such as A Crime of Passion. Someone suggested that this was because Prizzi's Honor was the first movie which Turner co-stars with a big-big name like Nicholson.