Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

gavin6942 New York City, the 1930s. A powerful crime family is caught in a lethal crossfire between union organizers and brutal corporate bosses. Against this turbulent backdrop, the family's three street-hardened brothers and the women they love are about to be plunged into a deadly confrontation with their enemies, with each other, and with their own dark heritage of violence, madness and murder.Although Abel Ferrara is still making films, this might be his last "big" one. All the titles he is known for, from "Ms. 45" to "The Addiction" seem to taper off after this title. Why? Certainly he did not start making bad movies, did he? (But, who knows? Even Francis Ford Coppola deteriorated.) What makes this better than the average Mafia movie is that it focuses less on the violence (though that happens), and much more on the psychology. We see these men as they see themselves, and we see that the women in their lives do not always see them in as glamorous of a light. This makes for an interesting comparison.

fromwalking Not often I say at the end of a movie "what a waste of time". My time is not precious. I have a wealth of time. So actually it doesn't really matter what I do with it. At night I like to watch films sitting on my sofa next to my lovely wife who crumbles into my arms and sleeps most of the time. Usually we see good and very good films this way. But this time it was different. I give most films a chance. When nothing really special happens or when something really strange happens, I'm curious and want to see what the maker of the film is trying to say. No difference on that part, looking at this movie.I have one positive thing to say about this film: great acting.For the rest, it is a boring film. I hated the little brother who was dead. I couldn't stand his moron face. He didn't fit in the 'family' to my opinion. The two other brothers, Walken and Penn, they were great!The entire film I was waiting for something to really happen. But nothing happened. Only very boring intros and some stupid dialogs that have no meaning and in the understanding of the film have no meaning at all. When you've seen the film, you could forget like 60% of the dialogs and still understand it. I liked what they did with Del Torro. And after that, the actual killer: just didn't fit in the rest of the scenario of this Johnny, nor did it fit in the entire film. The killer had nothing to do with the business, the communist thing. Then why these boring dialogs?The end of the movie did it. I got a bad mood over it. This is what made me conclude: a waste of time. All dead. ...Come on!

merklekranz I am of the opinion that Abel Ferrara's movies have been steadily declining since "Ms45". Way too much symbolism, religious guilt, and boredom have invaded efforts like "The Funeral". Might as well add a good dose of confusion on top of everything else. This one drifts back and forth in time almost as randomly as a doodlebug puddles about on a pond. The cast is excellent, Walken, Del Toro, Penn, give it their all, but the script is so muddled the whole thing just sort of collapses into a void of smoke and mirrors. The ending especially is less than satisfying. I mean an innocent Del Toro is killed, only to end with a crazed Penn lighting up the family and then blowing his brains out? Who cares? I certainly didn't. - MERK

RobertF87 When it comes to cult film-maker Abel Ferrara, people seem to either love his work or hate it. I think some of his films are great but some are just rubbish. Fortunately "The Funeral" is far from being rubbish, but then it's not great either.Set in New York in the 1930s, the film centres on an organised crime family, headed by brothers Ray (Christopher Walken) and Chezz (Chris Penn) who are set to bury their younger brother Johnny (Vincent Gallo). As Johnny's wake progresses the two remaining brothers reflect on his life and try to track down his killer.The film is pretty well made, and benefits from strong performances all round. It's main defect is that the film tends to lose focus and go off at tangents (scenes where Johnny attends a Communist rally were pretty pointless). Also, as in many Ferrara films, there is a very blatant religious subtext which sometimes gets in the way of the drama. Also, be warned that there is a lot of pretty brutal violence in this film.If you like gangster films (and obviously if you're a Ferrara fan) give this a go. It's worth trying anyway just for the quality of the performances.