James Gandolfini – The ExhaustNotes Blog

The Many Saints of Newark is a movie that spoke to me on many levels. I’m from New Jersey, I’ve watched every episode of The Sopranos probably four times or more, I’m a James Gandolfini fan, I grew up in New Jersey when the Newark race riots occurred (which figured prominently in The Many Saints of Newark), and there are scenes in and around Bahr’s Landing, arguably the best seafood restaurant in the world. Ah, where to begin.

Michael and James Gandolfini, both playing Tony Soprano. James Gandolfini went to Rutgers, as did I and many of my friends in New Jersey.

For starters, the movie is the story of Tony Soprano as a kid and then a teenager. The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel. The young Tony Soprano is played by none other than Michael Gandolfini, James Gandolfini’s real son. Michael Gandolfini’s looks and his mannerisms make him completely believable as a younger version of the mob boss. I can’t imagine the pressure on this young man as an actor to play the role well. My compliments and thanks to you, Mr. Gandolfini. You succeeded and your father would be proud.

Corrado Soprano, aka Uncle Jun, then and now.

Silvio Dante. In the Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt played Silvio.

Big Pussy, who turned turned FBI informant and was later whacked by Tony Soprano.

Pauly Walnuts. In real life, the guy who played Pauly had been a real mobster.

Bahr’s Seafood Landing in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. I had dinner there just last month. In my opinion, it’s the best seafood restaurant on the planet.

Most of the characters in The Sopranos are shown in their earlier years in The Many Saints of Newark, including Silvio Dante, Pauly Walnuts, Tony’s mother, Tony’s sister Janice, Big Pussy, and others. Whoever did the casting on this movie did a very good job; the actors in each role were completely believable as younger versions of themselves. They were superb. The actors must have spent considerable time studying The Sopranos. Their accents, their mannerisms, their speech patterns, their expressions, even the way they walked brought back memories of The Sopranos series. It was an incredible set of performances.

In addition to the actors shown above, the late Ray Liotta actually played two roles, but I don’t want to spoil the movie for you. He was good in both.

You can watch The Many Saints of Newark on Netflix for $7.99 or you can get it on Amazon, and trust me, it will be money well spent. I give The Many Saints of Newark two thumbs up only because I don’t have more thumbs. When the movie ended, it closed with the theme music from The Sopranos (emphasizing its place as a prequel), and that was a nice touch.

More reviews are here.

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We watched Lonely Hearts on Netflix a few nights ago, and it was surprisingly good. It would be hard to go wrong, I think, with any film that had John Travolta and the late James Gandolfini in it, but this one was even better than expected.

Lonely Hearts (made in 2006) is based on the true story of serial spree killers Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck. Fernandez was a weasely con man who preyed on lonely women (he found them through their lonely hearts ads). Beck was one of his intended victims, but she saw through his game immediately and, weirdly, they became partners in perpetuating similar crimes, ultimately progressing to several murders to silence their victims, witnesses, and others who crossed their paths (including a police officer). Both Fernandez and Beck died in the electric chair in 1951.

The story was dark and moody, but the movie was well done. It’s worth a watch.

More reviews? You bet. They’re right here.