Mob Town is a 2019 drama about the famed meeting of the heads of the Mafia in 1957 in upstate Apalachin, NY.
One late night in Apalachin, New York State Trooper Ed Croswell (David Arquette) pulls over a speeding car on a lonely stretch of road, finding a man hiding his identity and looking to give the cops some cash to let him go. Hauling the man in, he soon finds the man is mafia connected with a judge in their pocket. Forced to let him go, it inspires Croswell to dig a little deeper, soon realizing that the mob is in town, though no one wants to believe him, or worse, covers up what he finds.
That’s about it for director Danny A. Abeckaser‘s new film Mob Town, an independently released crime film based on real events. It’s got all the calling cards of the genre made famous by the likes of Martin Scorsese, including a few well-tuned performances to boot, but somehow lacks the humph in making it all click with any resonance. The best thing going is the startling attention to detail, with the period absolutely full on authentic, with excellent production value and plenty of visuals that plop this right in the 1950s.
However, the story itself slips through the cracks as Abeckaser can’t give the dialogue and action the impact it feels demanding of, most scenes subdued and drained of any greater interest. While the cast is strong, including the always underrated Robert Davi as Vito Genovese giving the most ardent effort to capture the mystic of his role, there’s a general sense of malaise to the action, which seems to be a purposeful intent, the filmmakers perhaps trying to give the movie a retro feel.
The real history behind this is riveting, one well worth looking into, but Mob Town isn’t able to latch onto any sense of investment, the weight on Croswell to carry us through it not all that magnetizing. Arquette, portraying the actual cop at the center of this true story, doesn’t lend the character any authority, and the screenplay is all too wishy-washy with his personal life, playing it a bit dopey in trying to give the dedicated police officer some presence. Everything just sort of follows along a narrow line with all the clichéd back and forths you’d expect.
While it’s to be commended for giving the history behind this some much-need attention, Mob Town is an earnest effort with a distinct and deliberate style that ends up spinning in its own tracks, tonally seesawing its way to a better end than its start. Some might appreciate the kitchy melodramatic acting in spots and the mistimed attempts as humor, but most will surely feel left out of the experience.