The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Starring Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Kenneth McMillan, Daryl Hannah, Burt Young, M. Emmet Walsh, Geraldine Page, Tony Musante, Jack Kehoe, Philip Bosco, Joe Grifasi. [R]

Observant but familiar yarn set among Italian-Americans in Greenwich Village strives for the clarity and grittiness of other stink-of-the-streets sagas like Mean Streets, but never really cracks the surface. The would-be character study centers on a hustling dreamer (Rourke) who might have a shot if he could break ties with his perpetual screw-up cousin (Roberts), but the movie is guided by plot and recurrent behavior instead of psychology or introspection. As such, it’s not always convincing in the details of the storytelling, but the milieu and texture of the assorted lowlifes/obstacles in their orbit ring true. Only Rourke’s aerobics instructor girlfriend (played by Hannah) doesn’t fit, more of a temporary contrivance to coax his conscience up to the point where loyalty to friends wins out. Rourke is decent, but he’s stuck in the shadow of Roberts, whose mannered performance is all over the map, compelling one moment and risible the next; good supporting cast includes Page, landing an Oscar nomination for her role as a dead cop’s mother (onscreen for all of about six minutes). Based on the same-named novel by scribe Vincent Patrick.

70/100