Fernando Di Leo's Rulers of the City tells the story of Tony, a young loan collector for the mob who is growing increasingly dissatisfied with his current position in life. Stuck in a seemingly dead-end job that equates to beating up low-level borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments, Tony dreams of one day hitting it rich and being his own self-made man. After a chance encounter with Napoli, another low-level mob enforcer who has just been beat up and fired from his job working for Mr. Scarface, the two young men hatch a plan, which involves conning Mr. Scarface out of a fortune of cash, but of course things don't go as easily as the two originally planned. Rulers of the City is another highly entertaining Italian Crime film from Fernando Di Leo which features all the typical things one would come to expect from the Italian Crime master, featuring shootouts, epic brawls, tons of masochism, scantly-clad woman, double-crosses, and a ton of stylistic direction. That being said, what stands out about Rulers of the City is how different the main protagonist is in this film, being a much more metrosexual version of masculinty, whose far more playful and far less cynical. Looking like a skinny, college student, Tony as a character almost feels like a passing of the guard when it comes to these Italian Crime films, being a very different definition of masculinity, an assured, borderline cocky individual whose playfulness is a far cry from the standard, tough as nails, man of few words type definition of masculinty which the main characters of many of these Italian Crime films tend to inhabit. Hell, even Tony's apartment feels like the home of an adolescent, the walls being completely covered in various posters, something which is typically seen in a college dorm room. Tony and Napoli represent the youthful ideal of ambition, two characters who idolize the idea of being able to be their own men, clashing with much darker, remorseless tough guy antagonist, Mr. Scarface, played with terrifying effectiveness by Jack Palace. These characters, each of which are significantly younger than almost any other mobster in the film, seem to be a representation of youth ambition, as they attempt to snatch a piece of fortune from their elder mobster bosses. From an action perspective, the climax of Rulers of the City, which takes place in a large abandoned industrial factory, has got to be the highlight of the film, featuring a ton of kinetic camera work that brings an epic showdown to a strong, visceral conclusion. Being one of the later Italian Crime Films by Fernando Di Leo, Rulers of the City almost feels like a film in which the filmmaker is acknowledging this passing of the times, with both Tony and Napoli being younger, prettier type characters who still show an ability to kick ass, as they try to grab their own piece of the pie.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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