Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie Review

An early contender for "surprise film of the year."

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 25, 2014

Cute titles -- rhyming little things like Rob the Mob -- frequently seem to be attached to movies that strive to live up to the title's suggestion of cuteness over substance, usually resulting in a vacuous, trite, even bothersome sort of movie that fails to offer its audience anything of value beyond a sit-down in a darkened room. Rob the Mob shatters that convention. This is a beautiful film, practically poetic in construction, heartfelt in execution, and moving in its totality. Director Raymond De Felitta (City Island) and Writer Jonathan Fernandez, working from a true-life story of a young, bold couple who, as the title suggests, steals from the mafia, finds great emotional depth, solid characterization, and a study of the human condition from several angles. Additionally, it's a fast-paced, well-made, and emotionally sound picture from innocent start to predictable yet satisfying end.

Robbing the mob.

Tommy (Michael Pitt) and Rosie (Nina Arianda) are small-time criminals just trying to get by in the big city. After a robbery gone wrong, they're apprehended and sentenced to several months in prison, his stay a bit longer than hers. While he's still on the inside, she lands a job as a telephone collections agent, working for a man who hires second-chances fresh out of prison. Rosie manages to get Tommy a job there, too, once he's been released. Tommy one day skips work to sit in on a major mob trial featuring none other than the infamous Gambino family top man, John Gotti. There, he makes use of some of the testimony he hears -- the address of a secret mafia social club where no guns are allowed -- and hatches a scheme to hold it up. Rosie reluctantly agrees to serve as Tommy's getaway driver. Armed with an Uzi he barely knows how to operate, Tommy successfully pulls off the job, which turns into two and three. One of their scores nets them a mob hierarchy list that appears to be their golden ticket: it's wanted by the feds and worth far more than its weight in gold to the mafia. As the story gains traction and becomes more dangerous, it evolves to involve a prominent crime boss (Andy Garcia) and a goodhearted newspaper writer (Ray Romano).

Rob the Mob moves swiftly out of the gate and always follows a simple formula of telling the story with as little moviemaking glitz and glamour as possible getting in the way of everything it has to offer. The film does most everything right, including quickly but effectively building characters who are somewhat formulaic at their core but believably paired and supported by effortless chemistry between Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda, portraying two people hopelessly in love, a love built by a bond that has them so close together that they cannot fully see the world around them or grasp the seriousness of what they are doing. They cannot seem to differentiate stealing from a florist and stealing from the organized mafia (or the consequences of stealing, period), capable of seeing what they are doing on the surface, in a way blinded by the success but also the closed field of view that's a product of their intimacy. It's a sort of lovey-dovey hubris that's very smartly and believably portrayed by the lead characters and the film's key cog in making everything that flows out of it work.

That chemistry -- along with a quality supporting cast and an immensely interesting story that comes together quickly, believably, and very cleanly -- helps solidify the film, particularly considering how it jumps from place to place not in terms of story, theme, or structure but in tone. Darkly serious here, bubbly romantic there, violent, dangerous, mysterious, everything for sure, everything in doubt, and everything in between all give the movie added shape beyond the core, and that it stays together -- and tightly at that -- through it all is a testament to De Felitta's direction and understanding of exactly how the story, the characters, the actors, even the locations work together for the greater good. Few films prove capable of juggling so much while maintaining a perfect flow and a continuous, fast advancement through the story. The movie is truly harmonious in all aspects, building towards an emotionally difficult but nevertheless satisfying finality that, despite the lack of surprise, finishes the movie in perfect form.

Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

IMDB reports that Rob the Mob's aspect ratio is 2.39:1. Millennium Entertainment's Blu-ray is presented at an HDTV "friendly" 1.78:1 image that does away with the horizontal "black bars" and instead fills the screen with movie. While most shots don't appear too compromised and most of the film doesn't feel too cramped, there are several scenes that are nearly painful to watch in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Check out a dialogue exchange between Tommy and his brother Bobby around the 1:12:40 mark (screenshot above). The characters face one another on opposing edges of the screen but half of their heads are cut off and most of the frame is filled with background, making the shot the biggest loser of the entire movie, at least from a purely visual Blu-ray perspective. Otherwise, Millennium's transfer satisfies, at least in a general sense. Image clarity never dazzles but is consistent throughout. Fine details range from 1080p standard to slightly more impressive than average. Clothing and facial features are never so complex as to rival real life, but Andy Garcia's beard and Nina Arianda's makeup at least reveal some tangible textures. City concrete and brick and little odds and ends around the mafia social clubs offer some nice detailing, too. Colors, likewise, never set the screen ablaze but prove satisfying in context, which can either be well-lit exteriors or a number of warmish, golden-hued backdrops. Black levels never stray too far from natural, though they are sometimes a playing field for moderate globs of noise. Additionally, the transfer suffers from a few unsightly compression issues, particularly evident in a scene featuring Big Al addressing his men later in the film. Still, the aspect ratio is the biggest hindrance here, but other than that the film looks good enough for what it is and what the filmmakers intended the audience to see.

Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rob the Mob arrives on Blu-ray with a good quality Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack, one in which there is little room for complaint but, contrarily, little reason to make it memorable. This is a fairly dialogue-heavy experience with bursts of support sounds and music throughout. The spoken word does flow clearly and naturally from the center with enjoyably light reverberation inside the courtroom as heard during several scenes. In that same courtroom, the track finds quality ambient effects, such as coughs from the gallery or creaky wooden chairs that are the result of shifting audience members. Likewise, city exteriors frequently spring to life with well defined and implemented support elements. Gunfire is disappointingly lame, frequently sounding like a string of low-power fireworks rather than high-power shots. Music is lively and clear, nicely spaced across the stage and supported by a nice bit of surround information.

Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Rob the Mob contains a commentary and deleted scenes.

• Audio Commentary: Director Raymond De Felitta guides viewers through the film, beginning with a brief production history and moving on to discuss early 1990s New York, music, shooting locations, deleted scenes, improvisation scenes, wardrobe, and other basic details, insights, and anecdotes. The director delves further into characters and themes at times, too, making for a fairly well-rounded track that supports the film well and that should please audiences. Oddly, the film's volume is completely absent in the background; the director's words are the only thing the listener will hear, which can be fairly jarring when he pauses.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Coney (6:13), Just Want to Tell Your Story -- Extended (7:35), and Post-Robbery/Mom's Christmas (4:02).
• Previews (480i): Rob the Mob, Fading Gigolo, Charlie Countryman, Parts Per Billion, and Life of a King.

Rob the Mob Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rob the Mob takes a fascinating story and humanizes it on both ends of the spectrum. It's a film with no real heroes or villains, just people doing what they do for their own reasons to satisfy their own needs. Perhaps it's because nobody is truly "good" in the film -- even the goodhearted Ray Romano character has his flaws -- that it can so fully succeed in making them all in some way sympathetic, even as what they do doesn't at all align with "right living" or "the straight and narrow." It's built on the back of a truly fascinating story but defined by the exceptional characterization and unbeatable chemistry between its leads. It's a very satisfying watch, outwardly entertaining and inwardly gratifying. Millennium's Blu-ray release of Rob the Mob delivers decent picture quality. Audio is fine and the included supplements satisfy. Recommended on the strength of the film.