The Life I Lived DVD Review

By Prairie Miller

A psychological crime thriller about remorseful gangster angst, The Life I Lived is shades of The Godfather, with a little Woody Allen thrown in. I have no idea what goes through the heads of mobsters or hitmen when they embark upon their killing sprees, but according to director Ben E. Solenberger, that particular activity is riddled, not just with bullets, but simmering guilt pangs, existential introspection and family values redemption. Not to mention eating disorders, alcoholism and domestic abuse.

Richard Bennett is Bill Cacchiotti, a portly electrical supplies shopkeeper turned major player racketeer after some male bonding at a couple of poker games. Criminally embedded with police and politicians alike, Cacchiotti with his mental and moral downward spiral, destroys his family and corrupts his son Eddie, who grows up to be his hitman along with tending a side franchise as a pimp overseeing the 'parking lot lizards' doing the itinerant truckers. And finally leaves Cacchiotti wandering the neighborhood nearly naked and clutching a Scotch bottle on Halloween, and mistaken by the local kids as parading around a cool holiday costume.

Like oil and water, the juxtaposition in The Life I Lived of guilty-as-charged homicidal frenzy and guilt-ridden, hand wringing introspective reflections on one's bad behavior in dubious remission, just don't seem to mix. The concepts behind this neurotic mobster mayhem are potentially intriguing, but the tragic events that ensue come off as fairly hollow in terms of dramatic weight or audience empathy.

Echelon Studios Entertainment
Echelonstudios.us
Rated R
2 stars

DVD Features: Auditions; Feature Commentary; Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery Slideshow; Theatrical Trailers.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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