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Undescribable Perfection

Memorable, crazy movie

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Watched it on cable, didn't know nothing about it but felt like a really well built drama. Loved the way the story was told through the eyes of the different characters (although not terribly original. I tend to not to like movies with Ethan Hawke (sorry Ethan, I can't explain it), but I loved this one. I live in Portugal and the cable channel where I watched it - AXN Black or MOV, I'm not sure - translated the original title ("Staten Island") to "Não Há Crimes Perfeitos" - "There are No Perfect Crime". This, clearly low budget - indie movie is inspired by Cohen Brothers, Tarantino but also by classics like Hitchcock. I believe that was not a waste of time.

This film is one of the only movies that could be considered an action movie that I like - Its funny in parts, often ironic, contains exiting action and shooting scenes while has such a deep message that comes out in the ending that it is one of the only films that almost made me cry! I think this is because partly because it sticks to reality - there's nothing in it that could never happen or is to much of a 'happy ending' to be unrealistic - while the ending certainly isn't a let down either. The film has some important messages about life that all of us should see, and in my opinion should be much more well known than it is, watch it!

This tale of the tangentially connected lives of three Staten Islanders is well acted, well written and well directed, but would likely have been much better as three separate films. It has three very different tones, a plot device that belongs in a sci-fi flick and an ending that makes you wonder what the point of the whole exercise was.Parmie Tarzo (Vincent D'Onfrio) is a pudgy, bespectacled mobster who dreams of taking over the Staten Island underworld with his three thugs. He also dreams of setting the world record for holding his breath underwater and of finding the men who broke into his home and shot his elderly mother in the shoulder.Sully Halverson (Ethan Hawke) is a septic tank cleaner who's very self-conscious about his lack of intellect. When he and his wife decide to have a baby, Sully becomes consumed with the idea of having his kid genetically engineered to be smarter than he is and thinks he can get the money for it by breaking into Parmie's home and stealing from his safe.Jasper Sabiano (Seymour Cassel) is an old deaf-mute who slices meat for a living at a deli. He also plays the trifecta at the track, hoping for that one big win, is friends by Sully and cuts up the bodies brought to him by Parmie's gang for disposal.The stories of these three men are told in order, Parmie-Sully-Jasper, as they all intersect at the deli one day. Parmie ends up dressed like Mr. Rourke and sitting in a tree. Sully gets nabbed by the mob. Jasper winds up whimsically seeking a violent redemption for his sins. Their lives come together a final time and all of them get what they want, but only one of them survives.There's a lot to like about Staten Island. Unfortunately, it's doomed as a piece of entertainment by its three incongruous story lines. Parmie's section is clearly comedic, sometimes overtly and sometimes darkly, but never really serious. Then Sully comes in and his life is all serious, except with this over-the-top genetic redesign of his unborn son plopped into the middle of it all. I mean, come on! It's like watching Goodfellas and having Henry Hill decide he wants to have a sex change. And then Jasper life takes over the narrative with a distinctly fairy tale quality, like a modern fable of New York City's forgotten borough. All three separate tones are swirled together at the conclusion, but it takes like peppermint, ravioli and spinach.It's too bad because Vincent D'Onofrio gives another outstanding performance as a gangster who gets beyond all the clichés, even the ones he indulges. Writer/director James DeMonaco also came up with some good stuff, like the chaos at the robbery of Parmie's home and the souvenirs Jasper takes from the corpses he dismembers. Even the rapport between Sully and his wife manages to feel real and interesting, though we see little of it.You could any of these stories and make a movie of it. Putting them all together and giving each a dissimilar sensibility? It doesn't really work. Staten Island certainly isn't terrible. It's just not good enough to deserve to be watched instead of something else.

For most of the citizens of the New York area, Staten Island will be that remote place where the ferry that runs from Manhattan ends. It is a shame, because the island offers other interesting aspects not found in the other four boroughs that comprise the metropolitan area of New York City. Staten Island is also a place where mafiosi men have gone to settle with their families because it offers them an incentive for being away from the obvious sites associated with organized crime.Three lives are examined as they touch each other in of all places, a small deli in Staten Island. There, as if by chance, we meet Parmy Tarzo a man that wants to become the head of the crime industry in Staten Island. We also meet Sully, a man working for a septic tank company with his own share of knowledge of dirty things. Finally, Jasper, a deaf-mute cold cuts employee with a knack for carving in that section of the old fashioned Italian deli.What Parmy does not know is that in planning to become the boss of bosses, he has stepped on his own crew members ambitions of working on their own. He has a surprise coming to him. One night, while driving, he is ambushed by a hired man. His car plunges into a river, but since he has been practicing to hold his breath under water, he survives the crash with only minor scratches. Little prepares him when he witnesses the man who tried killing him with his own trusted men. As a way to stay alive, Parmy decides to join the protesters trying to save a big tract of land that has been sold for commercial development.Sully is a young man happily married. Not having been able to get his wife Mary pregnant, he takes her to one of the best hospitals where he learns about an interesting way to create highly intelligent children with an unorthodox method for achieving it. Since the treatment is costly, Sully decides to steal money from none other than Parmy, whose home he has visited while servicing the septic tank. In the botched robbery, Parmy's mom gets injured, so her son wants revenge.Finally, Jasper, known as Jas, the deli worker, a man with a gambling habit, gets lucky in hitting a "trifecta" that rewards him with a lot of money. Since his needs are limited and realizing Sully is in a bit of a spot, he contributes toward Mary's treatment. Unknown to us, Jas has a secret no one has a clue of what it is. Parmy and his men come to him when they need a procedure that only Jas, who cannot talk about it, is able to perform for them.The film was an unexpected surprise that paid in many ways. Director James De Monaco, a Staten Island native, wrote a screenplay that works well in the film. The stories overlap one another without overwhelming the narrative. The three men, although knowing the others, have no direct connection in the way the action takes them to. The only reference as to how they are connected comes at the beginning of each story when Mr. De Monaco gives the viewer a hint of things to come.Vincent D'Onofrio is an actor that always surprises. His Parmy is an earthy man that enjoys his food, as well as ordering a killing. He is a welcome presence in any film where he is cast. Ethan Hawke plays young Sully, a man with an ambition for his yet to be born son. Seymour Cassel, a veteran actor that always delivers, is one of the best things in "Staten Island". We do not get to see much of Julianne Nicholson, who is also an asset in everything she does.With a cinematography by Chris Norr, and a musical score by Frederic Verneres, the film is enjoyable. Credit should go to Luc Besson, a director himself, who has been backing talent such as Mr. De Monaco and others that need to be seen by discerning audiences.