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Mobster movies tend to be filled with stories of loyalties, lies, and betrayals—and they’re often punctuated by bursts of violence. The Birthday Cake follows the story of a young family member who finds himself caught up in the middle of the family’s politics and infighting.
The Birthday Cake follows Gio (Shiloh Fernandez) as he walks through the city streets to deliver a cake from his mother to her mob boss brother, Angelo (Val Kilmer). For the last 10 years since Gio’s father was killed, Angelo, the family, and their associates have gathered to celebrate his memory and eat some cake. But this year, one of them is missing: Gio’s cousin, Leo (Emory Cohen), who’s gotten himself into trouble. Everyone is looking for Leo—from Angelo to the FBI—and they suspect that Gio is covering for him.
As Gio makes his way through the streets to Angelo’s house, he has brief encounters with friends and family members—and with plenty of people who are very interested in Leo’s whereabouts. He occasionally checks in with Leo, too. But none of these encounters lead viewers to much of an understanding about what’s going on here—about the characters, their loyalties, or why we should care about any of it. Really, the only solid information comes from the occasional narration by the priest who’s somehow supposed to tie everything together but fails to do so in a way that makes sense.
The cast listing—which features names like Paul Sorvino, Aldis Hodge, and Ewan McGregor—seems to suggest a movie that’s much better than this one. It definitely feels like it could have been better. The idea is intriguing: a mob story that plays out over a couple of hours, as a young member of the family makes his way through the streets that the family has ruled for years—but might not maintain the same control over anymore. But too much of the story is told through narration, and too little is told through the characters and their interactions. And the story that plays out is often confusing—more like a road trip movie than a mobster movie—and it’s not nearly as gripping as it should have been.
The best mobster movies are tense and dramatic and loaded with action—but The Birthday Cake doesn’t really manage to be any of the above. It offers an interesting concept and an intriguing cast—but it doesn’t offer much beyond that.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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