Streets Of Darkness (1995)- * *
Directed by: James Ingrassia
Starring: Vincent LaRusso, Armand Cassis, Jerry Babij, Jennifer Cole, Patrick Barry, Christine Jackobi and Peter Gaines as Fat Sal
Danny DeStefano (LaRusso) is a young (?) street tough who has just finished his jail bid and returns home to the STREETS OF DARKNESS - Miami, Florida. He makes a vow to himself to go straight, but after his mother is assaulted by a Cuban drug lord named Hector (Cassis), he gets sucked back into the underground world of gangsters and crime, especially after mob boss Carlo Farello (Babij) likes the cut of his jib and wants Danny to come work for him full time. Danny asserts his independence as whatever he is (a contract killer?), but things get complicated when a love triangle blossoms between Danny, the boss's daughter Tina (Cole), and a woman inexplicably named Diabolique (Jackobi). After certain people get whacked, Danny has to decide what to do with the rest of his life. Will he walk the straight and narrow, as represented by Father Shea (Barry), or will he continue down the road of gangsterism, as represented by Big Tony, Fat Alex, and Fat Sal?
Danny DeStefano/Vincent LaRusso does not like sleeves. He steadfastly refuses any extraneous cloth on any part of his arms. At a more formal social function, he wears a collared sleeveless shirt. His toughness as an ex-con and gangster is undercut somewhat when he wears a neon pink, button-down tanktop with the buttons unbuttoned, with a necklace. All this when he's not shirtless. We could talk about Danny's wardrobe all day, but suffice to say that Streets of Darkness is a labor of love from writer/producer/star Vincent LaRusso. It takes a lot of cojones to make your own version of The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas (1990), and Scarface (1983) with no budget whasoever, shot on video, that runs 107 minutes. We give him and director James Ingrassia, and all the cast and crew, kudos for actually pulling that off and getting the movie into stores and streaming services.
Despite the title, box cover, and the image of LaRusso shirtless (naturally) with a gun, this is not an action film. It is a gangster drama - dare we say epic? - that plays by its own rules. Streets of Darkness was a film caught in time in between two poles. By 1995, it was too late for Miami Vice, but too early for The Sopranos. The movie was a victim of its own timing, and has elements of both swirled up in its SOV stew. In the last scene of the film, Danny is dressed as pure Crockett, with a pale blue T-shirt under a white jacket (one of the only times in the 107 minutes where sleeves are extant, perhaps it's a sign of Danny's character arc), but there are also a panoply of gangster characters like the aforementioned Big Tony, Fat Alex, and Fat Sal, among others, which presages The Sopranos. LaRusso was either after his time or before his time. Maybe both. Plenty of underlit scenes prefigure Boardwalk Empire and other "no lights" movies and TV, so maybe we can err towards the latter.
While we appreciate LaRusso's ambition, the film has serious pacing issues. There's a scene where Danny and Diabolique go to see a Gipsy Kings-esque concert and stay there. The dialogue is also unbelievably repetitive. Danny says almost everything at least twice. The runtime of the film would be 50 minutes if he only said things once, like a normal person. He starts every sentence he says in the film with either, "Let me tell you something", or "Listen carefully", and ends every sentence with, "You understand me?", which is by far his most repeated line of dialogue in the film. He's constantly asking everyone in sight if they understand him. This could be representative of Danny questioning his place in the world and looking for meaning in a chaotic universe. Or it could be that Danny is an inarticulate, unlikable lout. You be the judge.
That being said, we do appreciate that LaRusso seemingly thought that this was his big chance - his moment in the Miami sun, if you will. So he gives it his all, cranking up the intensity of his performance to Tom Cruise-levels, perhaps in the thought that this film could be like a demo reel for a potential Hollywood career. It seems his life didn't pan out that way, but that's okay. We have Streets of Darkness, and that's enough.
A late-stage highlight occurs when the aforementioned Fat Sal (Gaines) arrives. He steals the movie with his bizarre voice and mannerisms. It seems like he may be trying a Marlon Brando impression. He either succeeds or fails, it's impossible to tell. Streets of Darkness would probably have been a five-star movie if Fat Sal was the main character instead of Danny DeStefano.
Streets of Darkness has a homemade, local feel to it that will appeal to some but turn away most. Again, it's not really an action film but a few elements are there. It's too long but there is nudity and a synthy score, which helps. More than anything, it is a showcase for Vincent LaRusso, a time capsule of 1995, and an exemplar of the alchemy of the shot-on-video revolution meeting the ambition of a man whose reach exceeded his grasp.
Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty
