Then I sat down and watched it, I ended up feeling ashamed of myself for defending it. I expected a thriller Capone's last exploits before his death instead I got a movie where he daydreams and shits himself constantly. I told everyone I knew not to bother renting it, I was pretty goddamn mad at how bad this was, I knew even if it wasn't that great I would get some pretty entertaining moments with Hardy instead I was greeted with him shitting himself twice.
However after seeing numerous people on Reddit defending the film, I decided to take a risk and re-watch the film...spending another $6 but this time I went in knowing what to expect and actually give it a second chance.
Weirdly, I think I enjoyed the movie more on a second viewing. The movie has some truly bizarre visuals and absolutely out there performances but I found things that I actually kinda enjoyed about it on the second watch....minus the pooping pants in an interview sequence.
One slight problem I have is there is no real conflict or story until the last 40 minutes or so, the majority just Capone hanging around his mansion with his health and mental state slowly getting worse. It's not even until around the third act that some officers show up to investigate where Capone has hidden a large sum of money, but then that plot element is done with after five or so minutes.
However what saves the movie is Tom Hardy is clearly going all in for this performance, he is chewing on the scenery like mad but his performances was one my favourite things both times. He captures the descent into madness with brilliance. I remember feeling that seeing Hardy do this was embarrassing, but compared to Adrien Brody cracking penis jokes in Inappropriate Comedy or Al Pacino chasing Adam Sandler in drag.....this is nothing. The moments where Capone pisses himself or poops himself are certainly not my idea of film watching entertainment but at the same time I strangely kind of see where Trank was going, most people may think of Capone as a sadistic criminal to the very end instead of the broken man he was physically and mentally
My favourite scene in the entire movie was when Capone goes into his basement and enters a dreamlike sequence where he's back in his glory days, hanging out with his associates, spending time in clubs and relaxing with women and then executing a man who tried to rat on him. It's easily the most atmospheric and chilling part of the entire film, I do wish more of the film including how his past has clearly given him PTSD and driven him to a mental wreck. Seeing the transition from his "glory days" to his final days in poor health is an interesting idea, I don't think we'll get Capone II with Tom Hardy returning, but since Unbroken got a sequel....who knows.
The supporting cast are also good, Linda Cardellini is good as Capone's wife but her character motives are a bit vague, does she actually love her husband despite his horrible past or is she just staying with him hoping to inherit the money when he passes?
I like Josh Trank as a director, Chronicle was a strong film with sympathetic characters and I think I'm one of three people on the planet who like Fantastic Four (it had some cool visuals okay?). I think he has some cool style to his films and he can get a good performance out of people, I just hope his Twitter behaviour from a long time ago doesn't become his entire legacy. He has some great moments as a director.
Capone is a bloody weird film, but it has grown on me. I hated it for being totally bizarre but in the end, it was how out there and just batshit parts of this movie are that may me come back and give it a second shot. I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed it way more on a second watch
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