Capone

Based on true events, Capone documents the last year in the life of the feared mobster and follows the infamous figure, played here by Tom Hardy, as he attempts to hold onto his last bit of sanity. It’s an interesting approach to an iconic individual – there’s never been an Al Capone-centered story even remotely like this, that’s for sure – that’s generally employed to wholly unwatchable and downright interminable effect by filmmaker Josh Trank, as the writer/director delivers a meandering, shapeless narrative devoted almost entirely to Capone’s crumbling mental state and the impact it has on his family and friends. The picture’s exceedingly (and increasingly) tedious atmosphere is compounded by a growing emphasis on is-it-real-or-is-it-in-Capone’s-mind type elements, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the viewer’s ongoing attempts at finding something (anything) to embrace are stymied by Trank’s arms-length sensibilities and barely-fleshed-out, sketch of a screenplay. (Hardy’s oddball, egregiously showy performance, which becomes less and less interesting as time progresses, only heightens the aggressively obnoxious vibe.) By the time the seemingly endless final third rolls around, Capone has cemented its place as an uncommonly inept and unwatchable disaster that should, by all rights, spell the end of Trank’s fledgling filmmaking career.

1/2* out of ****