Sunday, April 5, 2015

Pacino, Cannavale, Bening Shine in Danny Collins



We must warn you -- the new Al Pacino flick, Danny Collins is a bit of a tear-jerker.
It doesn't start out that way. And it could easily be mistaken for a somewhat stark comedy. But if you don't feel your heart-tugging by the time the movie's over, you haven't got one.
Credit the acting.
Very loosely inspired by a true story, this movie has Al Pacino as an aging 1970s rocker, Danny Collins. For all his success (he still draws big crowds on the concert circuit) Danny has huge problems. For one, he can't give up his hard-living ways. But it goes beyond that. Danny is emotionally dead -- so much so that he actually wishes he were dead. 
You watch him and wonder: Is fame and fortune really this empty? And then Pacino convinces you (as only he can) that, yes -- it is.
But then something transformational happens.  His manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon and Danny decides to change course and embark on a sincere journey to rediscover his family, find true love and begin a second act.
Sound hokey?
It might be if Pacino weren't starring and if Bobby Cannavale, Annette Bening and Jenifer Garner weren't co-starring. Pacino holds back in this film. There's no scene-chewing, no outbursts, no wildly over-the-top moments. It's all multi-layered, wonderfully honest and surprising real. And Cannavale, Bening and Garner match him word-for word and scene-for scene. The dialogue is crisp and aware and the film slides easily from hip to heartfelt.
The scenes featuring Pacino and Cannavale (as the son who Danny never met) are particularly poignant. Pacino has said there is no actor he'd rather work with than Cannavale. Clearly, the feeling is mutual and it shows. The two are extraordinary together and when you watch them you know you're watching the best of the best.
Bening (as a suburban hotel manager) is alternately tough and tender with an uncanny ability to put Danny Collins in his place -- no small feat. And Garner plays off Pacino superbly in her role as Cannavale's wife. On top of all this, child actor Giselle Eisenberg turns out to be a scene-stealer as Cannavale's daughter.
Even now, when he's in top form no one can top Pacino. No one.
And he's in top form in Danny Collins.
Definitely worth it!

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