The Pope of Greenwich Village [1984] Eric Roberts

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The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087932/

The Pope of Greenwich Village is a 1984 American film starring Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan and Burt Young. Page earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her two-scene role. The film was adapted by screenwriter Vincent Patrick from his novel of the same name. Stuart Rosenberg directed.

Eric Roberts ... Paulie
Mickey Rourke ... Charlie
Daryl Hannah ... Diane
Geraldine Page ... Mrs. Ritter
Kenneth McMillan ... Barney
Tony Musante ... Pete
M. Emmet Walsh ... Burns
Burt Young ... Bed Bug Eddie

The Pope of Greenwich Village bills itself as a drama and is structured like a crime thriller, but I categorize it as basically a Behavior Movie. The real subject of the movie is the behavior of the characters, and the story is essentially an excuse for showboat performances. This movie is an actor's dream, and the actors involved are Eric Roberts, fresh from his triumph in STAR 80, as Paulie; Mickey Rourke, the hero of DINER, as Charlie; Daryl Hannah, right after her hit in SPLASH, as the aerobics instructor; and the usual supporting types like Tony Musante as the uncle, Burt Young --stuffing his face with pasta -- as the godfather, and Geraldine Page as the tough-talking mother of the dead cop. Also, Kenneth McMillan has a well-acted key role as an old safecracker who gets caught in the middle of the whole deal.

There are times when The Pope of Greenwich Village seems to aspire to some great meaning, some insight into crime like THE GODFATHER had. But the tip-off is the last shot, where the boys have a happy-go-lucky walk down the street and into a freeze frame, while Sinatra is trotted out for his third encore. This movie is not really about anything except behavior, and the only human drama in it is the story of the safecracker and his family. That doesn't mean it's not worth seeing. The behavior is well-observed, although Eric Roberts has a tendency to go over the top in his mannered performance, and the last two scenes are highly unlikely. It's worth seeing for the acting, and it's got some good laughs in it, and New York is colorfully observed, but don't tell me this movie is about human nature, because it's not; it's about acting.