It's hard to get much juice when it's all quick slice-and-dice in the first half-hour. . . . the moral slipperiness between criminal and politician, thug and cop, just doesn't ooze out here beyond all the blood.
Comment
10/20/07
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Crime Novel (2005)
53 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 8
Rotten:7
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: A criminal known as The Lebanese has a dream: to conquer the underworld of Rome. To carry out this feat without precedent he puts together a ruthless and highly organized gang. Their progress and... [More]
Starring: Kim Rossi-Stuart, Anna Mouglalis, Pierfrancesco Favino
Director: Michele Placido
Reviews for Crime Novel
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
In his eighth directorial effort, Romanzo Criminale, Placido takes aim at terrorism in his country during the 1970s . Though the proceedings are fascinating and powerful, it's unable to maintain momentum throughout its over two hours running time.
07/20/07
The universal nature of crime -- and its dark appeal -- is driven home with bullets and bravado.
07/06/07
Top Critic In short, Romanzo Criminale is interesting at first before overstaying its welcome and growing ever more tedious.
07/06/07
Top Critic Revenge is a dish served once too often in Romanzo Criminale, an Italian crime epic that runs out of appeal well before it runs out of ammo.
11/11/06
It is very murky stuff, and Placido could and should have explained the conspiracy theory a little more. Great performances, though, from Kim Rossi Stuart and Jasmine Trinca as his forlorn lover Roberta.
11/04/06
Exciting, impressively directed gangster epic with superb performances and a soundtrack ripped straight from Scorsese's iTunes.
11/02/06
The storytelling here is murkier than required, causing the pace to flag alarmingly in the second half.
11/02/06
A rowdy, rollicking throwback to the '70s "poliziotteschi" crime genre... you'll have heaps of fun until it disappears from your mind (right around the closing credits).
04/28/06
What elevates Romanzo criminale above many other, more generic stories is its sense of history, which may in part be due to the work of screenwriters Petraglia and Rulli of La meglio gioventu-fame.
04/25/06
First half plays as a respectable addition to the classic ensemble gangland genre, offering a gangster's-eye view of recent Italo history.
04/25/06
Top Critic Even though the story reputedly portrays a real gang of street punks that did rise to some power in Rome from 1977-92, the movie feels totally generic.
04/25/06
Top Critic1 - 15 (sorted by date)
Related Forums for Crime Novel
Italy's CRIME NOVEL gets a USA preem in the Tribeca Film Fest SPOTLIGHT section!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 4/29/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 4/29/06
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