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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:
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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