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.

jszaniaw I remember going to see 'The Funeral' when it first came out. It stirred me as a film featuring extremely compelling -- and extremely non-compelling elements alike. The acting is fabulous, and each scene in that sense and taken from that perspective is a gem. It's filmed theater, though, not really traditional film acting per se. Every actor does their spiel at one point or the other. Chris Penn might be the most memorable in his boisterous impersonation of a psychotic mobster, but really it's probably Annabella Sciorra and Chris Walken who deliver the most impressive performances. Apart from that, the film truly feels half baked (not always without charm, though): Ferrara is notorious for not being always on top of his storyboard, and one can tell here, definitely, especially since the cinematography is rather ugly and uninspired. The script feels more like a play, really (and save for a few outdoor scenes, the film could have been a play, perhaps with greater success), with long, overwrought dialogue which linger in mind nevertheless. So, all in all, 'The Funeral' might not be a very good film (it actually features a few very weak scenes), but at its best, it is truly memorable, and I guess that's why we like Abel Ferrara: regardless of how bad his films can be, they always have something to deliver.

Baz (salvador_2003) The Funeral is about gangsters Christopher Walken and Chris Penn burying their younger brother, on the evening of his wake (before his funeral) through flashbacks we see their brother and his involvement with crime and criminals. He is having an affair with Benicio Del Torro's wife and so Del Torro is placed in the frame for his murder, as the movie gradually ends, Chris Penn shoots his brothers and the people that work for him.Apart from two good performances from Walken and Penn, this movie lacks character detail, plot and lacks contemporary quality of the 1930's. There is unconvincing atmosphere between the characters and it is just disappointing.The highlight of the movie comes from Christopher Walken who whips out some good sayings and seeks his revenge.I got this film on a three DVD box set with Road to Perdition and Miller's Crossing. I'd already seen Miller's Crossing. I don't think it can be classed in the way that Miller's Crossing can.Its worth watching but I doubt anyone will watch it for a second time.PEACE.

Pepper Anne Though he was the director of that awful thriller, 'Fear City,' Abel Ferrer offers a movie about mobsters that distinguishes it from a decade of far too many mobster-themed movies in that it does not glorify mob life. Though slow in the introduction and sometimes confusing in structure, 'The Funeral' offers good acting and an intelligent plot.Ray (Christopher Walken), Chez (Chris Penn), and Johnny (Vincent Gallo) are brothers and members of the same crime family. I suspect that of the small crime unit, the eldest, Ray, is the leader. The film is centered around the funeral of the youngest, Johnny, who was mysteriously shot to death. And the mobsters, especially his brothers, want revenge. Johnny was an unusual part of such a violent family, too intelligent and often passive. He seemed to be drifting from his destined life of crime, handed down to him from his father to his brothers to him. It is not the role he seeks to fulfill, and it one he often questions, much to the resentment of his brothers, Ray and Chez. Ray is a much different character than Johnny. As the oldest, he was the first to kill a man when his father offered him a gun to shoot someone he didn't even know. Ray also absconds from any responsibility for what he does, consistenly justifying his actions as something that God forces him to do. Jean (Annabella Sciorra), his wife, asks whether he thinks it is suitable to blame God for his actions. He apparently blinds himself to any reality, and basks in the idea that he is only carrying out someone else's plan. That this is what he has to do. Jean even remarks to Johnny's wife, Helen (Gretchen Mol), that Ray and Chez and everyone else involved just keep perpetrating this one-sided, illiterate way of life. Chez is yet another counterweight caught in the middle. He is a very sadistic character and one who soon realizes what damage is being done. With Johnny dead and Ray eager for revenge, it is up to him to determine with the cycle continues. The nature of these characters are particularly interesting in a story that points out the realities of mafia life (for both the mobsters and their wives) as violence begets violence, making for a very intriguing story. Director Abel Ferrer did a good job with this movie. Despite being slow and sometime scattered in focus, it is worth watching.