Dominick and Eugene

Directed by Robert M. Young, Dominick and Eugene details the day-to-day exploits of siblings Eugene (Ray Liotta), a struggling medical student, and Dominick (Tom Hulce), a mentally-handicapped garbage collector. Filmmaker Young, working from a screenplay by Corey Blechman and Alvin Sargent, delivers a lackadaisical yet mostly compelling drama that fares best within its low-key, kitchen-sink first half, as the movie benefits from its appealing blue-collar atmosphere and the terrific efforts of stars Liotta and Hulce – with the actors’ top-tier efforts going a long way towards elevating a narrative that is, periodically, perhaps just a little too laid-back and uneventful. And although the picture’s second half admittedly does veer a little too far into shamelessly-manipulative-melodrama territory, particularly with the inclusion of a gripping but somewhat incongruous third-act kidnapping subplot, Dominick and Eugene generally comes off as a solid endeavor that receives plenty of mileage out of its first-class performances.

*** out of ****