A Bronx Tale -5 out of 5 Stars

Every now and then a actor and a role become one.This is the case when actor Chazz Palminteri (who wrote a one man play this is based on) plays local mobster Sonny in this gritty 1993 movie set in the 50's.At 122 minutes you are left wanting more,or a sequel at least.Alas this is all we get for now.
Young Calogero Anello, played by both Francis Capra as age 9 and Lillo Brancato ( who was found not guilty of murder on December 22, 2008. He was, however, convicted of first-degree attempted burglary, and he was sentenced on January 9, 2009, to 10 years in prison)
as age 17,witnesses a shooting in the street by Sonny and not wanting to be a "Rat" tells the cops it wasn't Sonny.After this Sonny takes him under his wing to raise as his own teaching him the pros and cons of the street while preaching that this is NOT for him and education is the way out.Now given the nickname of "C"by Sonny there is the tug between the allure of "the life"of Sonny s and the hard working honest laborers life of his father Lorenzo .(Robert DeNiro who also made his directorial debut) C sees a young black girl,Jane,played by Taral Hicks,on the bus his dad drives and is immediately smitten as is she.In the 50's in the Bronx,blacks and white were still learning to come together and the tension is evident in fights between both groups including Jane's brother and C's social club friends.The social club scenes brings back fond memories as I once belong to one back in the day in Brooklyn.
The tension continues between Sonny and Lorenzo as Lorenzo tells C people don't love Sonny,they fear him and Sonny tells C it's better to be feared than loved.Sonny however approves of C dating Jane while Lorenzo says it's better to stay with your own kind when C asks him indirectly with the old"I have a friend……"Sonny has a warped sense of values and shows it with his "Sonny s test"on if a woman is worth going with.Sonny also believes you have 3 great loves in your life and this Jane might be your first,no matter he had all 3 of his by the age of 16.His test is,open the door for the broad than walk around the back of the car looking into the back window to see if she leans over to lift the door lock on the drivers side for him.If she does,she's a keeper,if not,she's a selfish bitch and drop her immediately .Sonny lends him his car but the date is called off when her brother is attacked by C's friends.C returns the car and Sonny finds a bomb under the hood.There's is tension when Sonny s shows his real side accusing C of maybe knowing who planted the bomb.As C breaks down in tears Sonny backs off and later
Sonny tells C his friends are punks ,are gets him away from them to apologize, the night they are all killed as a result of a fight with the blacks.After the deaths C races to thank Sonny for saving his life but he enters the bar in time to witness the son of the man Sonny had killed in the street those years ago,kill Sonny.
I'll let you find out if Jane passes Sonny s test when she finally does go out with C  as well as a great cameo at Sonny's funeral.
There is nothing not to like about the film,music included is very represented of the period.
Giving it 5 out of 5 puts it on a par with the much more better known Saturday Night Fever,which I will review at a later date for archival reasons.Truly I don't know which is a better film about the real NY.

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