A mafia hit man who was in the witness protection program turns up dead in Central Park. A mafia boss is implicated, but his defense wants him declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.A mafia hit man who was in the witness protection program turns up dead in Central Park. A mafia boss is implicated, but his defense wants him declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.A mafia hit man who was in the witness protection program turns up dead in Central Park. A mafia boss is implicated, but his defense wants him declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.
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- Johnny DeMayo
- (as Michael Rispolt)
- Vicky Grant
- (as Katherine Narducci)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVicky Grant (Kathrine Narducci), whose father was murdered by the mob, rants against the public fascination with gangsters: "These wiseguys, they are psychos and losers, and everybody loves them. And I don't get it." In real life, Narducci's own father was murdered by the mafia when she was 10 years old. Narducci also famously was in The Sopranos (1999) as Charmaine Bucco, the wife of Tony Soprano's best (non Mob) friend Artie Bucco. Her views on Tony Soprano (unsurprisingly) follow her character's sentiment in this episode as well.
- GoofsIt is established at the beginning of the episode that the restaurant where Brendan Hall and Nick LaGrassa meet is called "Bellaflora's." A bit later in the episode, Lennie Briscoe incorrectly calls the restaurant "Bellarosa's."
- Quotes
Vicky Grant: [about the man who killed her father] They were going to put him on Larry King, and get some big movie star to play him and make him out to be a hero. These wiseguys are psychos and losers, and everybody loves them. I don't get it.
- ConnectionsReferences Larry King Live (1985)
"Faccia a Faccia" is one of those episodes. Season 8 was a very solid season, and the best and most consistent Season 8 of the Season 8s of the big three 'Law and Order' shows (this, 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent'). And "Faccia a Faccia" is one of the best, and it is an episode that gets better and better with each minute with intrigue from the very beginning but becomes quite special in the legal portions. Cannot recommend it highly enough and can't fault it.
As usual for 'Law and Order', the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden.
The script is taut and provokes a lot of thought, especially in the second half where more than one point of view is shown and in a way that rings true and worth considering. The story is deceptively typical at first but very quickly becomes very intricate and twisty, the many turns being sharp, clever and unexpected. The ending floored me on first watch and still has the shock factor, especially when such a good job was done making one think the truth was something otherwise.
Conflict has tension, with the suspense in the legal scenes being quite unsettling, and all sides are easy to swallow. The character of Emil Skoda was always interesting and this is one of his best appearances, while the character interaction is full of fun and tension. The acting is terrific in lead and supporting, all the regulars are without complaint and JK Simmons shines as does the truly chilling defendent.
In conclusion, wonderful. 10/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 14, 2021