Review of Danny Collins (2015) by Greg B — 10 Apr 2015

"Danny Collins" is a movie about a washed up singer (Al Pacino) who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son and his son's family in New Jersey. Collins used to be big in the 70's, but he turned into a washed out alcoholic and crack addict with no semblance of meaning in life or purpose.

Once his agent (Christopher Plummer) presents a letter to him from John Lennon written in 1971, Collins finds new meaning in life and tries to re-claim some part of what his life could have been. Besides just being a movie in nostalgia, this film explores redemption and a man's attempt to find purpose to his life where there is none.

While the film is a bit overdone and has enough schmaltz to be a soap opera, I also thought it had endearing elements and showed the tender side of Pacino's acting. Danny Collins as a character is very broken and troubled, and despite his personality issues, others around him are able to see that he is a good person at heart, and some of his foils are able to bring this out in him.

When I say the script is overdone, such an example is the son's terminal leukemia. I feel that plot device was a bit maudlin and more appropriate for a soap opera rather than a reconciliation story.

In other words, it didn't work for me. However flawed the script may have been, Pacino's acting prowess and charm on screen make up for that, and this film is a highly enjoyable and endearing character study --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B.