Federal Hill (1994)

little gem

As a former Rhode Islander I was attracted to this movie. I had rented Outside Providence and did not care for it. Had an unknown local actor played Baldwin's part it might have been good. Federal Hill, however, was quite good. It completely captured Providence and Federal Hill. I imagine the upcoming movie about Buddy Cianci will be similar as far as the rich cultural portrait Turturro offers. I truly can not imagine anyone saying this is a horrible movie. It's really quite good. October 12, 2005

EXCELLENT & UNDER RATED Greaseball GEM !!

This movie was filmed in my home town of Providence, Rhode Island in the early 1990's. Back then Providence wasn't looking so good, as it was going through lots of construction. You can see some of the ugliness & gloom Providence experienced back then, in this film. It's a melancholy drama, with hints of oddball humor and plenty of greasy mob guy language. Also you can see enjoyable early footage of some famous actors, and some who SHOULD be more well-known. The portrayals of Rhode Islander Italian Americans is very well done.

The story is fairly simple, but very rich in texture and
typical Italian culture (namely the thug stereotypes.) The neighborhood in Providence in which the actors (thug-types) grew up together in, is called Federal Hill, hence the name of the movie. I used to live there growing up, and the scenes on 'the Hill' such as the bakery/deli, and the restaraunt, were very pleasant for me to see.

Needless to say, there is some odd behavior amongst a couple of the main characters, which leads to PLENTY of trouble!

With a good dose of drama, humor, sometimes depressing situations, class, and quality acting, Federal Hill is a well done, low budget, artsy mob-flick.. Under rated indeed!

These days, the downtown area of Providence is beautiful and a lot has been done to make this colonial city a fun place to visit.

The actor who plays Ralphie went on to become a big star on a major network station's police drama.. and the actress who plays the character Wendy in the film, can currently be seen on a home makeover program.

During the end credits of this wonderful film, the very beautiful song 'Run You Away' from the artist Susan Said (susansaid dot com) plays for you to enjoy... this song suits the ending perfectly, as it is very sad.

The previous reviewer was unconstructive in his tearing-down of this wonderful film. I don't see how anybody could dislike it, as it's a pleasure to watch. There is a black & white version, and a color version, I own the color VHS and also a color Laserdisk. It played on cable many times back in the mid-90's.

If you like mob flicks that aren't so 'gang related', but more 'bad decisions amongst buddies'.. then you should check this out.

Thumbs up for a favorite movie of mine, and for great shots of my old stomping grounds! February 21, 2005

Beyond atrocity

My friends and I rented this movie a few years ago. It has become the barometer against which all bad movies are measured.

"We saw Alone in the Dark last weekend. It was terrible."
"Federal Hill terrible?"
"No, not THAT terrible."

Imagine a mob movie written by junior high students and performed by pre-schoolers and you're still doing a little better than Federal Hill did. The movie is beyond predictable in its dialogue, plot "twists" and tough guy talk. You'll cringe and wince at the overacting and poor direction. This is a movie where every line that is supposed to evoke awe from the viewer makes them laugh instead.

This one's good for a rental if you and your friends like to tear apart bad movies. Aside from that, AVOID.
February 11, 2005

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