[yasr_overall_rating]
Raised on the streets of New York, young John Gotti found his way into the Gambino crime family, eventually having the boss removed and becoming the head of the powerful family. His wife asked only one thing from John: to never expose their children to his profession. But he broke the vow, and John Jr. took his place as his father’s Capo.
Say what you want about John Travolta’s personal life, like his fellow Scientologist, Tom Cruise, both men always bring their “A” game to every project they make. That doesn’t necessarily mean every film they’re a part of will turn out to be a big hit (“Battlefield Earth” anyone?) but both Cruise and Travolta give their movies everything they’ve got. I just wish more actors these days would follow suit.
Many of us remember the John Travolta from “Welcome Back, Kotter,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” and “Urban Cowboy,” where he played the good guy. Over time, however, he occasionally turned to the dark side and played memorable villains in “Face/Off,” “Pulp Fiction,” and the aforementioned “Battlefield Earth” so by the time we get to “Gotti,” we are somewhat used to him portraying the bad guy.
The movie tells the story of John Gotti and his rise to fame and power throughout the 1970s and into the ’90s. Known for his flamboyant style and unambiguous personality, Gotti was a larger-than-life figure who, unlike the other crime families in the city who shunned the spotlight and kept low profiles, actually embraced it, and earned the nickname, “The Dapper Don,” for his taste in expensive clothes and for his smooth-spoken personality in front of the cameras.
Most of what is seen in the movie has been recounted by Gotti himself and others who knew him, including family and friends. Where the film falters, however, is in its uncertainty as to which path it wants to follow. Naturally, John Gotti is central and foremost to the story but the movie wavers when it can’t decide which characters and storylines to focus on and instead of making a definitive decision, it concentrates on too many characters, some of which are not relevant to the overall narrative and after one or two scenes, are never seen again.
We learn that Gotti, a member of the Gambini Family, and unhappy with how it was being run by Gambino boss Paul Castellano, secretly organized his murder and as a result, took control of the family. After three high-profile trials throughout the 1980s in which he was acquitted in each case, Gotti thought of himself as untouchable but that same arrogance led to his downfall in 1992 when he was convicted of five murders and because he was caught on tape admitting to it, he was sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.
The film spotlights Gotti’s long-suffering wife Victoria (played by Travolta’s real-life wife Kelly Preston) and his son, John A. Gotti (Spencer Rocco Lofranco) and their lives as they try to live in Gotti’s shadow, even after his death but for the most part, the movie focuses on John Gotti himself. Travolta is in top form here, and if any actor can play a real-life charismatic bad guy such as John Gotti, who better than John Travolta? He is the epitome of cool, infusing Gotti with moments of contemptuousness but also devotion and enthusiasm. The film received mainly negative reviews upon its theatrical release and while I feel many of them were unnecessarily harsh, while “Gotti” does take a few missteps, on the whole, the movie is filled with powerful performances, led by Travolta and Preston.
Available on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD September 25th
