Capone is a 2020 biopic that focuses on a much older Al Capone who is suffering from dementia after a decade of imprisonment.
Hardy really tries his best to showcase a compelling performance, but it’s unfortunately a mixed bag. At times, he actually does a great job capturing the eccentric nature of Capone, but then he also becomes unintentionally hilarious in some scenes. It lacks proper direction from Trank, because it’s all over the place. The best part of the movie is Linda Cardellini, who plays Al’s wife Mae, and she’s the only one you actually care about. Their relationship has somewhat something intriguing going on even if it’s not fully developed. The rest of the cast does fine for what they’re given to work with.
Conceptually, the main idea of Capone is undeniably fascinating. However, it’s just that the execution is very dull and sloppy. It’s not interesting to watch, because you don’t care any of the people on screen except for Mae. The main problem is that it’s tonally inconsistent throughout, which utterly compromises the premise. Trank’s screenplay lacks focus as it doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. It tries to be a dark psychological drama that revolves around this notorious gangster’s mental struggle to remember who he is, but then it’s also an unintentionally hysterical parody that pokes fun of Capone sometimes. It goes nowhere with its ideas.
To sum it up, Capone is an unpleasant watch. As Trank’s comeback film, it’s not the worst feature he has made since the release of Fantastic Four. However, it’s still tedious to sit through, and it also makes you wonder why this movie exists in the first place. It’s a sluggish mess with a strong case of identity crisis.