God's Pocket (2014)

A blue collar worker tries to cover things up when his stepson is killed in a suspicious accident, but a local reporter senses that something's amiss.

Director:

John Slattery

Writers:

Peter Dexter (novel), Alex Metcalf (screenplay)

Stars:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christina Hendricks, Richard Jenkins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Hendricks	...	Jeanie Scarpato
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Mickey Scarpato
Eddie Marsan	...	Smilin' Jack Moran
Caleb Landry Jones	...	Leon Hubbard
Jack O'Connell	...	Mole Ferrell
Bill Buell	...	Ray
Rebecca Kling	...	Fat Pat
David Apicella	...	Priest
Bridget Barkan	...	Joyce
Michael Drayer	...	Danny
Prudence Wright Holmes	...	Eleanor
Eddie McGee	...	Petey Kearns
Molly Price	...	Joanie
John Turturro	...	Arthur 'Bird' Capezio
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Sal Cappi

Storyline

When Mickey's crazy step-son Leon is killed in a construction 'accident', nobody in the working class neighborhood of God's Pocket is sorry he's gone. Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body, but when the boy's mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle between a body he can't bury, a wife he can't please and a debt he can't pay.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | impotence | drunkenness | handjob | death | 

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Taglines:

The only thing they can't forgive is not being from ... God's Pocket

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language throughout and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

God's Pocket

Filming Locations:

Yonkers, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,482, 11 May 2014

Gross USA:

$169,976

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$413,567

Company Credits

Production Co:

Park Pictures, Cooper's Town Productions, Shoestring Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Philip Seymour Hoffman was originally approached to play Richard Shellburn.

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Goofs

Taking place in a Philadelphia blue collar neighborhood, the logo on the door of the police car is the actual one used in Philadelphia, as are the shoulder id patches on the policeman's shirts, but the police car itself, as well as the breast, and hat badges, are obviously NOT of Philadelphia.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard Shellburn: [narrating] The working men of God's Pocket are simple men. They work. They follow their teams. They marry and have children who rarely leave the Pocket. Everyone here has stolen something from somebody else... Or when they were kids, they set someone's house on fire... Or they ran away when they should have stayed and fought. They know who cheats at cards and who slaps their kids around. And no matter what anybody does, they're still here. And whatever they are is what they are. ...

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Connections

References Taxi Driver (1976)

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Soundtracks

Can't Find My Way Home
Written by Steve Winwood
Performed by Blind Faith
Courtesy of Polydor Limited
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Maybe I'm easily pleased, but then so's a lot of other people!

I was brought up thinking that a book had to have a story line packed full of memorable incidents, poems had to rhyme, and films were supposed to be full of action to be appreciated. I'm glad to say that I grew out of that 'please me quick' attitude. Yes if I'm in the mood for a dose of that I can gladly take it, but these days you are likely to overdose on that. I tend to seek films like this these days and I'm not at all disappointed. God's Pocket has been explained a few times already so I won't bother to do that. I'm just here to try and encourage others to enjoy this film for what it is, a great little offbeat film with tremendous characters, an everyday story of working people that takes a few twists and turns here and there, with a lovely dark streak running right through it. I for one loved it.