James Gandolfini has carried his career as an actor on his
ability to appear tough. Sometimes this is played for comedic effect when his
behavior is in contradiction with his demeanor, as was the case in Andrew
Dominik’s Killing Them Softly. Regardless, he always seems to carry himself as
though he were willing to stand up to anyone. It is this expectation of the
actor which makes his role in Down the Shore so surprising. Though he still has
a bit of the usual Jersey attitude, Bailey
(Gandolfini) is a man who is meeker and more broken down than any the actor has
played before.
Bailey runs a pathetically underperforming amusement park for
small children on the Jersey shore. While in
the middle of the dead winter season, Bailey is struck with the news of his
sister’s death upon the arrival of her mysterious French husband (Edoardo
Costa). The filmmaker deliberately prevents us from seeing enough about this
stranger to know whether he is trustworthy or not, but Bailey is immediately
suspicious. Despite the suspicion, the two go into business together running
the kiddie amusement park, and soon the new brother-in-law becomes entangled in
Bailey’s melodrama.
This is a film about the characters and why they act the way
they do, though some are made out to be villains without needing much of an
explanation. Bailey has a past which makes him hold back from what he knows is
right, including the unrequited love he has for an old childhood girlfriend and
neighbor (Famke Janssen). In true independent film tradition, little happens
besides conversations of a revelatory nature, but the performances are good and
the direction is solid. Little about this film stands out from the mass of
other small-town/dead town indi-dramas, but it is well made nonetheless.
Entertainment Value:
3.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Disc Features: 1/10
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