Eventually, Monument Ave will get its due. It is a terrifically realized slice of hoodlum life, a story about a near escape from a cycle of hopeless violence and dis pear. Dennis Leary proved he could act right here.
It also suggests, along with the better-than-it-had-a-right-to-be Beautiful Girl, that Ted Demme was just tapping the surface of potentially great career when he died. He and Leary may have combined on a handful of classics if Demme had lived.
As much as I like The Departed and Mystic River, this is the movie that really captures the gangster life in South Boston. If you like movies like Force of Evil, Friends of Eddie Coyle and other hard-edged crime pictures, check it out.
It also suggests, along with the better-than-it-had-a-right-to-be Beautiful Girl, that Ted Demme was just tapping the surface of potentially great career when he died. He and Leary may have combined on a handful of classics if Demme had lived.
As much as I like The Departed and Mystic River, this is the movie that really captures the gangster life in South Boston. If you like movies like Force of Evil, Friends of Eddie Coyle and other hard-edged crime pictures, check it out.