It's 1967 Buffalo. Working stiff Thomas Hacklin, Jr. (James Caan) starts dating Alisa (Jill Eikenberry). Meanwhile, his ex-wife Ruthie is dating low level mobster Jack Scolese. Jack gets arrested and does a deal with the feds. He is brought into witness protection and he brings along Ruthie and her kids. Thomas is shocked that his kids have suddenly gone. He sues to get back his kids from the government.
Thomas is an angry character. The problem is that James Caan is such a powerful actor and his anger gets to be scary. It gives me doubt as to whether Thomas should get his kids. The movie probably needs more scenes of him being a good father in the first act. It's absolutely necessary to show that he's good for the kids. The story is also a bit messy. A clearer script would help. The movie also seems to be placing Thomas' parental rights in direct confrontation with putting away a dozen mobsters. I'm not completely sold with the premise. He needs to make it clear that he's willing to work with the government in their cases. All in all, it's an intriguing story even if I don't agree with it 100%.
Thomas is an angry character. The problem is that James Caan is such a powerful actor and his anger gets to be scary. It gives me doubt as to whether Thomas should get his kids. The movie probably needs more scenes of him being a good father in the first act. It's absolutely necessary to show that he's good for the kids. The story is also a bit messy. A clearer script would help. The movie also seems to be placing Thomas' parental rights in direct confrontation with putting away a dozen mobsters. I'm not completely sold with the premise. He needs to make it clear that he's willing to work with the government in their cases. All in all, it's an intriguing story even if I don't agree with it 100%.