Criticature: "Blast of Silence" - 7/2/10

Say 'goodnight'.

Like Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killing”, Allen Baron’s little gem is part of criminal cinematic lore. It’s short, precise and knowing and works with a confidence big enough to match its lack of budget. Though the first-time writer/actor/director went on to be known primarily for his work in TV—namely “Charlie’s Angels” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”--“Silence” is often overlooked when it comes to the gangster genre. And unjustifiably so.

It’s an ironic title considering the huge chunks of internal narration that unfold during the 77 minutes that we follow one Frankie Bono (Baron), a nondescript mob hitman on loan from Cleveland. Now, that’s a pretty standard set-up but there’s a meticulousness and focus to the film that drives a deeper curiosity. While we may have seen a hundred different hits all conducted in increasingly lurid and outrageous methods, the simplicity of Bono’s job (to whack an unruly mob lieutenant in Manhattan) warrants its very own sort of ferocity. Baron doesn’t rush the violence and likewise he doesn’t skimp on the essential element to a killing: patience. Much of the film is occupied with moments of urban anxiety as Bono waits for the perfect moment to strike; all of it brought to gloriously mundane life with the austere black-and-white photography. It looks more like an NYU student's pet project than a professional film shoot. And yet that's why it looks terrific, because there is this amateurish gaze to it. A sideways glance to a genre bloated with cliches and stereotypes.

At times it feels as though it’s going to devolve into artistic kitsch but the narrator, who remains undisclosed, gives the film a sort of grounded pulp sensibility as he relates each step and misstep of the misanthropic killer in a throaty, Scorcese-esque drawl. It plays off very much like a how-to guide; truisms and nuggets of underworld wisdom pop up here and there. Like, “You don’t have to know a man to live with em. But you have to know a man like a brother to kill him.”

But if you’re searching for “Scarface” you best not introduce your little friend to the rest of us. The best thing about “Silence” is just that. The quiet periods of reflection when things seem to stop for Frankie and he’s left to ponder his loneliness in a city that has all but forgot about him. As he wanders through Christmas crowds, between brownstones, as “O Come All, Ye Faithful” drifts through a darkened Rockefeller Plaza with ghostly reminders of a life lost, we start to get the impression that even where humanity seems to be lacking, it ain’t.

****
(1961)

Written & Directed:
Allen Baron

Narration:
Mel Davenport

Producers:
Merrill S. Brody

Cast:
Allen Baron........................................Frank Bono
Molly McCarthy.....................................Lori
Larry Tucker.......................................Big Ralph
Peter H. Clune.....................................Troiano
Danny Meehan.......................................Petey
Howard Mann........................................Body Guard
Charles Creasap....................................Contact Man
Bill Da Prado......................................Joe Boniface
Milda Memenas......................................Troiano's Girl Friend
Joe Bubbico........................................Body Guard
Ruth Kaner.........................................Cleaning Woman
Gil Rogers.........................................Gangster
Jerry Douglas......................................Gangster
Don Saroyan........................................Lori's Boy Friend
Dean Sheldon.......................................Night Club Singer