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Movie:		8.0
Picture:		7.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		4.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	James DeMonaco
Writer(s):	James DeMonaco
Starring:	Ethan Hawke • Vincent D'Onofrio • Seymour Cassel • Julianne Nicholson
Genre:	Drama
Website:	http://www.statenislandnymovie.com/
Release Date:	December 22, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	DVD - $17.49
Amazon:

It’s interesting that Luc Besson would help produce Staten Island, as tonally, structurally and morally, it hearkens back to the French film noir he most likely grew up on. Stories where there is only one possible outcome and the viewer makes his or her own assessment of whether the poetic nature of the denouement justifies the events leading up to it.

The Staten Island portrayed in the directorial debut of James DeMonaco (writer of Coppola’s Jack, among other stuff) is, well, it’s a trap. It’s a trap for the rich, the needy, and those few lucky contented in-between. An ugly, derelict and inescapable prison, condemning its inhabitants to futile efforts, simply by letting them destroy each other, and worsen each others’ fortunes. In actuality, it’s not an uncommon issue to deal with…but rarely is it done so intriguingly. DeMonaco is able to wring an uncommonly profound fable out of his location and characters. When the credits come up, the ugly, desolate backdrop of Staten Island seems to take on a more wholly introspective tone. All of a sudden, the crimes of carelessness and heartlessness drift away and allow for a scenic moment of reflection. This isn’t the kind of crime drama that sings its audience away with a relevant piece from the Rolling Stones' catalog, rather, it’s the kind one can easily recognize has something to say. That is, beyond the obvious “Don’t steal money from mob bosses,” deal.

Staten Island is sort of divided into three, mostly concurrent acts. The three leads (Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Seymour Cassel, in credited order) are all great. Hawke especially has a way of making me connect with whatever he’s doing, but D’Onofrio has rarely given a more personal performance. With such a scant running time (just about 90 seriously quick minutes), developing three wildly different, equally believable characters is damn impressive. Not for a moment did I question a motive, even after I’d just been introduced to someone. Someone who’s been crushed under the star power and deserves to be mentioned is Julianne Nicholson, playing Hawke’s wife. What happens to her is dropped all at once in her lap and there's nothing she can do about it, and at no time did I stop thinking about what was to become of her – this can be chalked up to simple, good writing, but making her character stick with as relatively little screen time as she has in the second half was all her. Conviction goes a long way.

Technically, the film is deceivingly simple. What starts out as a pretty basic point and shoot style stays pretty much the same throughout, rarely skewing the angles or screwing with fancy transitions. The approach gives Staten Island a workmanlike construction, echoing the air of Americana in the story and letting the strength of the writing and the performances dictate the quality of the storytelling, and succeeding in spades. The most simple assessment I can give of Staten Island is that really, it’s a quality work, due to its heart and its craft, both of which are far beyond what we seem to be getting these days from our swamp storm of direct to DVD distribution.

DVD Audio/Video:

Dolby 5.1 is included, as it has been on essentially every DVD for the past 5 years (a few I’ve reviewed recently not withstanding). The picture quality is also perfectly fine for a DVD, but if you’re an audio or videophile you may as well just get the Blu-ray, as if I had to tell you.

DVD Bonus Features:

The main extra on the disc is a commentary track with writer-director James DeMonaco, Ethan Hawk and Vincent D’Onofrio. The three of them talk about the movie. That’s what commentaries are for. Do I expect anyone reading this to actually listen to it? Depends on whether or not you like it enough, really. Besides that there’s a two minute piece with D’Onofrio on Staten Island (as in, the island itself), and some deleted scenes.