Palookaville (film)
Palookaville is a 1995 crime comedy film about a trio of burglars and their dysfunctional family of origin,[1] starring William Forsythe, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Vincent Gallo, Adam Trese and Frances McDormand and directed by Alan Taylor. The writing is a free interpretation of three short stories by Italo Calvino[2]
Palookaville | |
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Promotional poster | |
Directed by | Alan Taylor |
Produced by | Uberto Pasolini Scott Ferguson |
Written by | David Epstein |
Starring | |
Music by | Rachel Portman |
Cinematography | John Thomas |
Edited by | David Leonard |
Production company | Redwave Films The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
Distributed by | The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Plot
Sid, Russ and Jerry are three wannabe criminals looking for easy money to break out of their nowhere lives. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetence, they are convinced they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control all around them.
Cast
- William Forsythe as Sid Dunleavy
- Vincent Gallo as Russell Pataki
- Adam Trese as Jerry
- Gareth Williams as Ed the Cop
- LisaGay Hamilton as Betty
- Kim Dickens as Laurie
- Suzanne Shepherd as Mother
- Nicole Burdette as Chris
- Robert LuPone as Ralph
- Sam Coppola as Mr. Kott
- Frances McDormand as June
- Douglas Seale as Old Man
- William Riker as Old Arthur
- Leonard Jackson as Bus Driver
- William Duell as Money Truck Guard
- Peter McRobbie as Chief of Police
- Nesbitt Blaisdell as Old Fritz
- Bridgit Ryan as Enid
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 11 critics (7 positive, 4 negative) with an average rating of 6.4/10.[3]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4.[4]
SFGate.com called it "a fine little independent film loaded with character and deserving of wider distribution."[1]
Accolades
- 1995, nominated, Thessaloniki Film Festival Golden Alexander for director Alan Taylor
- 1997, won Tromsø International Film Festival Audience Award for Alan Taylor
- 1998, won London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award for British Producer of the Year for Uberto Pasolini
References
- Stack, Peter (October 25, 1996). "FILM REVIEW -- These Three Stooges Entertaining in 'Palookaville'". SFGATE.
- Bolongaro, Eugenio (2006). "Playful roberies in Palookaville".
- "Palookaville (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- Ebert, Roger (November 29, 1996). "Palookaville movie review & film summary (1996)". Chicago Sun-Times.