Review of A Bronx Tale (1993) by Chris W — 16 Jan 2012

Robert De Niro's directorial debut is a classic gangster film with some of the traditional elements intact along with a more personal and dramatic story, a Bronx story. A Bronx Tale features a very intriguing story of a boy who soon befriends local mafia capo Sonny, in a powerhouse performance by Chazz Palminteri who also wrote the story. Robert De Niro once again gives another great performance as the father trying to protect his son from the dangers of the mob. De Niro plays the good father with good advice to his son. The story features some great mob/gang scenes and story points as well as dramatic family points between C and his father, Lorenzo. Lillo Brancato's performance as C was really good, he truly gave a great performance as the italian street kid from the Bronx, good first role. I really liked how the Bronx seemed dominant by Italians it gave it a realistic feel to what it was at that time. The inclusion of the racism even gave the film some more conflict aside from the mafia story. I thought it took a great direction, the story was climatic and despite how tragic and sad the end was it was a great coming of age story and understanding the life on the streets and really what it means to be a man. Great performance and directorial debut for THE Robert De Niro.

Another highlight of the film was the cameo appearance of Joe Pesci as fellow mobster, I won't spoil the scene he appears in but it was great.