Little New York (2009)

The lives of three residents of New York's Staten Island intersect as they struggle to get ahead.

Director:

James DeMonaco

Writer:

James DeMonaco

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Seymour Cassel

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ethan Hawke	...	Sully Halverson
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Parmie Tarzo
Seymour Cassel	...	Jasper Sabiano
Julianne Nicholson	...	Mary Halverson
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian Brennan	...	Tree Man
Lynn Cohen	...	Dr. Leikovic
Bill Cwikowski	...	Manny the Cashier
J.D. Daniels	...	Vet
Rosemary De Angelis	...	Gianina Tarzo
Dominic Fumusa	...	Giammarino
Michael Hogan	...	Bill Quinlan
Dominic Marcus	...	Chainsaw Man #2
Ken Marks	...	Land Owner #1
Adrian Martinez	...	Officer Rodriguez
Larry Mitchell	...	Cop #1

Storyline

In Staten Island, New York, Parmie Tarzo is a powerful mobster boss. The family man Sully Halverson is septic tank cleaner married with Mary Halverson and they are trying to have a baby. The deaf and dumb Jasper "Jas" Sabiano is the slicer of deli meat in a market and also works for Parmie Tarzo slicing the bodies of his victims. Jas likes Sully and expects to win the horse races. One day, Sully that is not a bright man decides to heist the house of Parmie Tarzo, expecting to artificially inseminate Mary with a better sperm than his in an expensive clinic. Meanwhile Jas wins the horse race and there is an attempt on Tarzo's life and he finds that his gangsters have planned it. The lives of the three residents are entwined with tragic consequences.

---

Plot Keywords:

septic tank | septic tank cleaner | mobster | tree hugger | shot in the head | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ethan Hawke and James DeMonacco later move onto The Purge (2013) together.

---

Goofs

A scene near the beginning has Vincent D'Onforio driving and music is playing The Closed Caption says it is The Temptations singing "Smiling Faces". The song was originally recorded by The Temptations in 1971. Producer Norman Whitfield had the song re-recorded by The Undisputed Truth the same year, resulting in a number-three Billboard Hot 100 position for the group. "Smiling Faces" was the only Top 40 single released by the Undisputed Truth, and was included on their debut album The Undisputed Truth. The version heard on the movie is by The Undisputed Truth.

---

Crazy Credits

MPAA Certificate No. 999999. Seems made up, since numbers are only 5 digits in the year 2020. Apparently The Darwin Awards (2006) also has this number.

---

Soundtracks

You're Gonna Get It
Written by Bosco Mann and Guy David
Performed by Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings (as The Dap Kings)
Courtesy of Daptone Records

User Reviews

A big disappointment

My wife picked out "Staten Island" (that was the movie's title and the title on the DVD. I'm not sure why IMDb has it listed as "Little New York") and we were both looking forward to it. Unfortunately, "Staten Island" was disappointing. Certainly there was a mix of humor, irony and some grim aspects. But after reading the description on the box, it failed to meet expectations.

That said, Seymour Cassel was outstanding as a deaf, mute butcher who occasionally did work for the mob. You really felt for him throughout the movie. Ethan Hawke had a convincing time portraying a stereotyped "less than bright" septic tank worker. I'm not partial to Vincent D'Onofrio's limited acting abilities and he didn't fail to disappoint. I don't understand how he lands movie roles. He has enough trouble with his TV roles.

If you're looking to rent a decent mob movie, I'd look elsewhere. While not horrible "Staten Island" left us wanting.

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Official site

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French Italian American Sign Language

Release Date:

5 August 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Little New York

Filming Locations:

Alpine, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$763,728

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Open City Films, Why Not Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1