A Bronx Tale Essay, Research Paper

A Bronx Tale

It s 1960 in New York City in the middle of the

bronx. Living at East 187th Street is the family of

Calogero (played at age 9 by Francis Capra and at

age 17 by Lillo Brancato). Calogero s father

Lorenzo believes that a man should make an honest

living to support his family and refuses to be

involved in anything that is illegal, such as

working for Sonny, the local boss . Lorenzo is

played by Robert De Niro. However, Calogero

idolizes Sonny, and when given the oppurtunity to

help the boss beat a murder charge, Calogero

helps him out. As greatful as Sonny was he took

the 9-year old under his wing and despite the

protestations of Lorenzo, the two developed a bond.

As a result of their relationship , Calogero now

has two people each giving him different advice and

neither respecting what the other has to say.

Life s difficult choices, when tackled by

conscience, lead to survival in a brutal world.

Robert De Niro has appeared in some of the

greatest gangster films of the past two decades. As

the director of this film it doesn t come as a

surprise to anyone that De Niro has chosen this

genre for his first behind the camera motion

picture.

A Bronx Tale covers little new ground, but the

material s presentation is anything but ordinary.

Sure, on the surface, it s another gangster movie,

but the story has a lot more to it. A Bronx Tale

gives it s viewers an overly aspiring perspective,

but the film has a lot of emotional meaning.

Violence in this film is limited. While there

are graphic beatings, we see little blood.

Instead, the characters are kept at center focus.

The characters are very human, very believable, and

very compelling to watch. De Niro s direction is

excellent; he fills the film with details and makes

clear points within every frame.

Growing up in such a difficult society,

Calogero finds himself seeking approval of his

father, but finds it impossible to avoid his

personal needs. As such an impressionable young

man, his childhood is torn between many influences

in a brutal society. Life s difficult choices,

when tackled by conscience, lead to survival in a

brutal world.