March 21, 2014 9:00 pm US/Pacific
Rob The Mob
Released March 21, 2014 (NY) & March 28, 2014 (LA).
Beverly Hills, CA -
Rob the Mob hits New York City's theaters today and LA's theaters March 28th! In many ways, it's a story as old
as time with a spin all its own!
Based on the true crime story of Thomas (Tommy) and Rosemarie (Rosie) Uva that transpired back in the early '90's, Rob the Mob's story is defintely more about the human
psyche than it is about lawlessness.
SYNOPSIS:
Director Raymond De Felitta does a superb job of taking us back to
1991, when the real story took place, and we are transported to pre-Guiliani NYC. Small-time crooks, Tommy (played by Michael Pitt) and
Rosie (Tony Award winner Nina Arianda) Uva are apparently madly in love and a little mad.
As they're trying to live a normal life, Tommy starts attending the landmark trial of Gambino-family boss John Gotti where Mafia hit man Sammy "The Bull" Gravano provides graphic testimony that could finally bring him down.
During the trial, Tommy hears Sammy name a Mafia-owned social club where no guns are permitted and so, he has an idea: Why not rob the joint? And so begins a series of Bonnie-and-Clyde-style stickups of mob hangouts around the city.
Tommy and Rosie not only incur the wrath of Mob families but they also draw the attention of the FBI and veteran mob reporter CARDOZA (played by Emmy winner Ray Romano). At first, the Bonanno crime family head,
BIG AL (Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia), orders his men only to scare the couple. Yet, during one of their heists, Tommy and Rosie stumble upon a Mafia secret so guarded that it could very well be the FBI's smoking gun.
Be sure to listen to our exclusive one-on-one interview with Rob the Mob's Director, Raymond De Felitta.
His unique take on the movie, the art of filmmaking and music is timeless: "Everyone's story," De Felitta says, "as queer or strange or absolutely ridiculous, is filled with humanity and filled
with truth."
The mafia syndicate is flailing, BIG AL needs to correct his mistake, Tommy and Rosie are caught between the law and a mob contract, and everything is about to collide!
Rob the Mob's Director, Oscar-nominated Raymond De Felitta, deftly
created a film that isn't just another run-of-the-mill mob movie. Instead, he presents this unbelievable love story and allows it to unfold as the mafia mayhem churns. As De Felitta moves the film to its
inevitable ending (C'mon, no secrets here. This is a true story where the main characters are messing WITH THE MOB!), he creates this inescapable pull.
It's like watching a fire burn. You know the danger. The outcome is inevitable...but you can't help watching it anyways. And so it is with De Felitta's Rob the Mob.
We're rooting for the star-crossed lovers. We begin despising the FBI as much as we do the Mafia - except that BIG AL gets to us just as much as CARDOZA does with his grand gestures to help Tommy and Rosie.
De Felitta gets us to want to see this film to its end.
And the cast? This one is filled with actors who've earned their chops!
Andy Garcia. What more needs to be said? Yes, he's played the mobster (His performance in The Godfather: Part III won him an Oscar-nomination as Best Supporting Actor); but, in Rob the Mob,
Garcia's BIG AL isn't just another hot-headed gumba. He's a mobster who is contemplative, mindful, and even regretful.
Ray Romano, as the mob veteran reporter, delivers. His CARDOZA is tired, done with what he's been doing, that is, until Tommy and Rosie's escapades breath life into him. With that breath of life comes meaning, and he becomes attached to them to the point of stepping outside the boundaries of the
journalist with a story.
Rob the Mob's Composer, Stephen Endelman, was recently IN studio with theINshow. Listen in as he
talks about Rob the Mob's soundtrack, the art of making music, and what it takes to realize your dreams. "The more I think about it," Stephen ruminates, it is "perserverance, persistance. If you have a dream you never give up on that dream!"
Another great feature of Rob the Mob is its fantastic soundtrack! It features original music by Grammy-nominated composer, arranger and producer Stephen Endelman. (Here's a fun fact:
Raymond De Felitta is a musician in his own right. According to Endelman, De Felitta came up with a lyric for Rob the Mob's Original Song,
"Love and the Gun". Endelman set it to music and Tamela D'Amico lends it her beautiful voice.)
Endelman has said that he "...used a lot of homemade pads as textures for their darkness." He "also went to a prison and recorded everything you could possibly imagine inside a prison cell. It was a disused prison and that became my percussion ensemble." In this film,
Endelman has once again demonstrated his gift of collaboration and writing music.
Rob the Mob is an outstanding movie. It's neither a chick-flick nor is it a goodfellas. I don't even think I could call it a dramedy. Instead, it is a remarkable character study where Freud would have a field day and so can you. It's a cross between
satisfying drama and a tidy epic. Check it out...it's well worth your time!
Picture courtesy of ©theINshow.com.
Taken at Rob the Mob's Press Junket in LA.
To see the rest of the pictures, please visit us on Flickr.
Film: Rob The Mob
Distributor: Millennium Entertainment
Directed by: Raymond De Felitta
Writer: Jonathan Fernandez
Cast: Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia, Ray Romano, Michael Rispoli, Samira Wiley and Burt Young
Release date: March 21, 2014 (NY), March 28, 2014 (LA)
Total Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: Rated R.
Gus Summers is the Host and Broadcast Producer for The "IN Show, an entertaining broadcast that covers all things exciting and enlightening.
When Gus isn't busy covering current events and interesting people, you'll see him out and about enjoying all that the City of Angels has to offer.
For any questions, comments, or program ideas, he can be reached at gus@theinshow.com.
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All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission of the Author.)
