Two Family House
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: D Film: B
One of
the unrecognized gems of 1999 is Two
Family House, with Michael Rispoli of TV’s The Sopranos as Buddy, a good guy trying to build a better future
by launching a neighborhood bar against financial odds. Buddy has always been a dreamer and will not
give up until he reaches a goal that will improve his way of life, and he’ll
take every job he can to do so.
Helping
him out are The O’Neary’s, who are residents in the building he owns. That is until Mary O’Neary (Kelly Macdonald)
gives birth to a baby whose father might have been African American. Jim O’Neary (Kevin Conway) believes it is
infidelity and not some genetic (if he knows what that is) thing, and leaves
her. Buddy’s wife Estelle (Katherine
Narducci), who is always worried what others think about her, wants her out
too. Frank Whaley is the voice over of
the child as an adult, though he has no screen credit.
At first
Buddy complies, but his conscious quickly catches up with him, which turns out
to be auxiliary to any dreams worth having, and tries to help her out. The other results are the predictable
discrimination, misery, and ignorance that have not changed that much in half a
century. Buddy’s marriage begins to come
apart as a result, which means he has to decide what future he needs to choose.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is not bad and is likely the same
transfer that was used when Universal Home Video originally issued the film on
DVD in its initial release.
Cinematographer Michael Mayers does a fine job of capturing the feel of
the time visually, thanks to some nice set touches. Color is decent, but bright scenes are a tad
better than night shots. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo has healthy Pro Logic surrounds, especially useful when the
music score kicks in. There are no
extras whatsoever on the disc, however.
There
have been many films about Italians in New York, especially in the Scorsese era,
but many have been awful. Two Family House is one of the better
films out of the New York school of filmmaking and in one
way seems timeless. Writer/director
Raymond De Felitta does an impressive job recreating the times and attitudes
from the 1950s. Catch it!
- Nicholas Sheffo
