Film Review: One Eyed King (2001)
When a film remains obscure despite having notable names on screen, that usually can mean one or two things. Either it lacked proper PR/distribution or it lacked quality. In case of One Eyed King, 2001 crime drama directed written and directed by Robert Moresco, it was combination of the two.
The plot is set in Hell’s Kitchen, mostly Irish American neighbourhood of Manhattan, plagued by notorious Irish American crime organisations. Protagonist, played by William Baldwin, is Frank, young man who grew up there. As a young boy he had made pact with his four friends that they would help each other. As an adult he finds plenty of reasons to uphold this pledge because those four haven’t amount to much in their lives and they still stick to the same neighbourhood, trying to make ends meet usually through illegal means, getting in all kinds of trouble that involve drug addiction and unwanted pregnancies. The most sinister factor in their lives is Hollis “Holly” Cone (played by Armand Assante), seemingly friendly but ruthless Irish Mob boss who exploits their loyalty. Although Frank wants to do the right thing, his efforts fail to prevent chain of events that would end in tragedy.
One Eyed King represented feature debut for Robert Moresco, and it shows on screen. Made in low budget and with digital video cameras, it tries to compensate it with unconventional narrative techniques and unusual directing style, but those efforts, that usually involve narration, slow motion and excessive flashbacks, seem pretentious. What seems even worse is Moresco’s inability to make the plot about young men growing up in “problematic” part of city and taking wrong choices in life look original or indistinguishable from the myriad other films that had the same plots. Armand Assante as charismatic screen-chewing villain seems the only memorable element of One Eyed King, easily overshadowing William Baldwin and the rest of young cast. Even respected character actor like Chazz Palminteri seems wasted in the role of police detective. One Eyed King, following its Boston Film Festival premiere, quickly disappeared in the world of video distribution. Moresco continued to explore similar subjects in his subsequent films and in 2005 won Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Paul Haggis for Crash. This film, although watchable, can’t be recommended to anyone other than viewers most curious about Moresco’s work.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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