Republished from the show notes of my other site, Fuds on Film.
Al Capone was 48 when he died, after a heart attack following a few years of ill health following complications from syphilis. This came as a slight surprise to me on checking, as Tom Hardy’s portrayal here in Josh Tranks film has him looking closer to 80.
This is… well, quite what this film is is open to interpretation, I suppose, but we at least join him in very poor, already brain damaged health at his Florida mansion after his release from prison on compassionate grounds. In as much as there’s any plot to it, there’s some mention of Capone having buried a few million dollars somewhere but can’t remember where, with both the cops and his family wanting to find out where this probably imaginary stash is, er, stashed, however saying that’s in any way relevant to what’s going on in Capone would be entirely misleading.
Most of this film, and certainly the bulk of memorable bits you’d want to make a gif out of, happens in Capone’s misfiring grey matter, and it is bonkers, mainly by containing a Tom Hardy performance where he looks just as confused and baffled by everything that’s going on as the audience is.
I’m not sure there’s a lot of point recapping it further, other than to say it features a confused Capone chomping carrots as a cigar replacements, shuffling through a prohibition era party to confusedly join Louis Armstrong on stage, and later on, looking like a bloated corpse, clad in dressing gown and nappies, shuffling around on a murder rampage with a gold plated Tommy gun.
On the one hand you could argue that any cinematic portrayal of Capone is an act of glorification, so I suppose that’s why he’s shown undergoing at least three rapid unscheduled bowel evacuation events. On the other hand I suppose you could see it as making fun of the mentally-ill, but it’s Al Capone, so who cares. Hot take – Al Capone was bad.
Josh Trank, of course was last seen five years ago after making Fantastic Four, and then having the studio decide to remake most of it, by all accounts, so perhaps that festival of blandness should not be held against him. After all, Capone is certainly a lot more memorable.
It’s also absolutely awful, with Hardy putting in his most laughable performance to date, like Bane off Batman had he been dosed with quaaludes and left in salty water for a decade. It’s never less than hypnotically abysmal, and combined with the Poundland Lynchian feel of these dream sequences, this film is never less than dreadfully entertaining. The best worst film I’ve seen in a while. Highly recommended for being atrocious.