Review of A Bronx Tale (1993) by Anthony L — 08 Mar 2012

"Is it better to be loved or feared" - Calogero Anello, A Bronx Tale.

A Bronx Tale is a kind of treasure. It is surely one of the best gangster films i've ever seen. This film incoporates both the "coming of age" genre and also the crime which makes this quite a unique movie. I have to say that this is most likely De Niro's greatest acheivement in his career. He gives a masterful performance as Lorenzo who is a caring father, a hardworking man and also a man of morals. Chazz Palminteri gives the best performance of his career, playing a gangster who treats Calogero like his own son. Throughout the whole film you see what these two guys do to take care of Calogero. Both of them care for Calogero equally but there is a difference between the two. One has money and all the riches and the other, is a working man. Naturally as a human, you tend to listen to the one who has money. Like Lorenzo said in the film " You don't understand: it's not what you say, it's what he sees, the clothes, the cars, the money, it's everything". As Calogero grows older, he starts to understand and at the end, you can see that he truly understand what his father and what Sonny had been telling him all along. " The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever". Although this is said by his father many times throughout the movie, there is a feeling of emotional satisfaction at the end of the film. To conclude, this film is great. It is well acted, well directed, well written and it has all the components of a perfect film.