Review: Scenes of the Crime

Soon-to-be-married Jon Abrahams is a mechanic and occasional driver for gangster Peter Greene. On one occasion, Greene kidnaps rival gangster Jeff Bridges, and puts him in the back of Abrahams’ van. Greene’s boss wants them to sit tight while he makes a financial deal with Bridges’ business partner (Bob Gunton) Abrahams is a bit nervous about all of this, but his boss is a dangerous (if low-level) gangster so he just does his damn job. Unfortunately, the whole thing goes to hell and Bridges’ team of enforcers (led by Noah Wyle) are itching to take Abrahams out. Abrahams has a gun, though, which is also handy in case Bridges decides to do a runner on him. He tries to call Greene’s boss (Brian Goodman), whilst Bridges tells him he can’t trust the guy, and that he needs to listen to him if he wants to get out of this situation alive. Part of the action takes place in and around local deli, attended to by Madchen Amick and Morris Chestnut, whilst R. Lee Ermey plays a lonely elderly man of slightly diminished capacity, and Henry Rollins plays Wyle’s number two. Aussie Dominic Purcell is seen briefly as one of Goodman’s bodyguards.

Despite a top-notch B+ cast and an irresistible true story, this film from first-time feature director Dominique Forma (a music video director) seems to have slipped through the cracks. Never given theatrical release in the US or Australia, this true crime story from 2001 is actually worthy of rediscovery. Sure, a lot of the characters end up somewhat pointless, and not many people seem to like the ending, but the journey is certainly enjoyable. Really good music score by the underrated Christopher Young (“Hellraiser”, “Flowers in the Attic”, “Drag Me to Hell”), too.

At first glance, the plot sounds like something out of a lame Corey Haim flick from the early 90s: Young man who acts as driver for gangster, gets into hot water just days before he is meant to be getting married. It ends up being a much more serious film than that, though the underrated Jon Abrahams isn’t a million miles away from Haim-ness, much as his character models himself on Steve McQueen. He’s good and a relatable enough presence on screen, I think he deserves a better career than he seems to have been handed to be honest. He is also backed up by a pretty impressive array of B+/A- actors, but it’s such a shame that few of them really get a whole lot to do here. I was especially disappointed that the naturally intimidating Henry Rollins has to play the dumb sidekick of the flagrantly miscast Noah Wyle, who plays the least-threatening mob enforcer of all-time. Peter Greene looks to be in rough shape (and based on what I’ve read on the guy, he’s had troubles over the years), but is pretty well-cast as the gangster. R. Lee Ermey is very interestingly cast against type as a doddering old man, who isn’t in the film much, but proves more than meets the eye. I wish he was in the film a whole lot more. Too much Ermey is never enough! Jeff Bridges is a bizarre name to be seen in something like this, but despite obviously only being here for marquee value, he’s OK too as the somewhat ‘respectable’ mobster. I’m afraid Morris Chestnut and Madchen Amick are only here to provide familiar faces no matter whether or not they are actually suited to their roles as deli employees (Morris Chestnut working at a deli? Really? I bet they get a shitload of young female customers, then).

The film’s real strength (aside from quite tense direction by Forma), and the reason why it gets a solid rating from me is in regards to its plot. It builds slowly but intriguingly, with things going on at different locations, as you slowly start to work out how things all fit together. It’s an interestingly plotted, twisty film. Yes, by the finale some of the characters feel rather pointless and unnecessary, but they actually are necessary, even if it’s only to disguise the film’s twists and turns. You’re gonna be surprised by one big twist, and you’re gonna feel like an idiot because it’s so obvious. But mark my words, you won’t see it coming. Nobody seems to like the ending but I was fine with it, felt it was kind of amusing, really.

I just don’t understand why this film went nowhere. It’s a solid true-crime flick, tensely directed, extremely well-plotted, and has reliable performances from Jon Abrahams, Jeff Bridges, R. Lee Ermey, and Bob Gunton (in one of his better turns, as a mob bigwig). Look out for this one, it’s no world-beater but it doesn’t deserve to have been completely forgotten. The screenplay is by Forma, Daniel Golka, and Amit Mehta, the latter two having not written anything before or since, amazingly enough. Nor has Forma directed a feature film since. There’s gotta be a helluva reason behind that, and it’s not the quality of this film, that’s for sure. This film truly is no crime against cinema, so if anyone has any idea why these people haven’t made a movie since, please let me know. The true crime is that it’s so unknown!

Rating: B-