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Well-cast but frustratingly clichéd, God's Pocket fails to strike a sensible balance between comedy and drama. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
A boozy lowlife (Philip Seymour Hoffman) tries to bury the truth about his crazy stepson's suspicious death, but a nosy newspaper columnist (Richard Jenkins) and the young man's mother complicate matters.
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Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language Throughout|Violence)
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Genre: Comedy, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: John Slattery
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Producer: Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Brisbee, Lance Acord, John Slattery, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Ziff
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Writer: John Slattery, Alex Metcalf
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $104.4K
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Runtime:
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Distributor: IFC Films
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Production Co: Park Pictures, Cooper's Town
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for God's Pocket
Critic Reviews for God's Pocket
Audience Reviews for God's Pocket
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â??I donâ??t know why writing down what everybody knows, is any better than knowing it in the first placeâ?? Along with A Most Wanted Man, Godâ??s Pocket was sadly one of only two remaining lead performances from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman â?? after his untimely death in 2014 to a heroine overdose. For this alone, itâ??s worth reminding yourself what a great talent this man was and how the medium of film will forever miss his astonishing onscreen presence. If truth be told, itâ??s not a role that requires him to do very much and the film itself continually switches tones but like many other movies featuring this fantastic actor, it benefits from his commitment and his everyman naturalism. After a mysterious construction â??accidentâ??, where his step-son Leon (Caleb Landry Jones) is killed, street hustler Mickey Scarpato (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is urged by the boys mother (Christina Hendricks) to find out what actually happened and to give the boy a decent burial. Mickey tries his best to investigate with the help of his friend Bird (John Turturro) but things go from bad to worse when Mickey gambles the funeral money and is left with a body he canâ??t bury and a debt he canâ??t pay as a local columnist (Richard Jenkins) begins to expose the events. A sombre, lowbrow mood piece thatâ??s very much character driven and has an authentic feel for itâ??s titular working class, Philadelphia neighbourhood, Godâ??s Pocket. Itâ??s inhabitants are seemingly stuck in their turgid, everyday lives where in order to make ends meet, they are forced into one scam or another. There are few redeeming characters in this tiny corner of the world but debutant director John Slattery (Roger Sterling from TVâ??s Mad Men) gives us an inside, almost fly-on-the-wall, look at how these blue collar crooks operate. The subject matter is certainly grim and cinematographer Lance Acord paints a suitably bleak picture. However, despite the stark nature, before you know it the film shifts from being a character drama to a very black comedy and itâ??s here that Slatteryâ??s inexperience in calling the shots comes to the fore. Considering that the film starts so seriously, a sudden burst of humour comes as a real surprise and it takes a while to adjust. Once you accept that this, though, the black comedic moments become better timed. Itâ??s certainly tonally uneven and you get the sense that Slattery is a little out of his depth in balancing it all but he does manage to deliver many excellent scenes, has a fantastic eye for detail and draws out superb performances from his entire cast. This bodes well for the the directorial future of John Slattery but itâ??s just a damn shame that we wonâ??t see much more from Hoffman. Not that Iâ??m the religious type but if I was, Iâ??d like to think that Hoffman has found centre stage in the pocket of God and itâ??s a pocket I wouldnâ??t hesitate to pick to bring him back to us. In such a short time, he proved to be one of the screen greats. Mark Walker
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What aspires to be an insightful dark comedy drama actually turns in to a 90 minute misery ride in God's Pocket, a film's whose depressing nature is never earned nor fully appreciated, left adrift by a narrative that never strikes the balance between drama and comedy. Set in a blue-collar neighborhood, named God's Pocket, we follow a Mickey Scarpato, who spends his time between low-level high-jacking and gambling. An unfortunate 'accident' of his step son soon finds things spiraling out of control for Mickey. Mad Men star John Slattery's directorial debut is one that seeks to be authentic, and to strike the delicate balance between creating a bleak atmospheric tone and an offbeat humor that keeps the audiences appreciation. What happens instead is that the film never establishes itself apart from the bleakness. We are continually told how dreary and dark the neighborhood is, and we see the complacency, the dullness of its inhabitants, yet we never grow with the characters. It's never particularly funny, and the film doesn't seem to offer any real insights. What we do get feels clichéd and familiar, with no real distinction. For its part, the cast has a solid showing. Being one of the last roles of Philip Seymour Hoffman, he is doubtless perfect for his role, as a gruff, yet sensible man in a tough world. The supporting cast is strong as well, yet their efforts do not make up for a script that doesn't inject any humanity, uniqueness, or humor in its subject. 2/5 Stars
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