Ray Stevenson as Danny Greene
Before taking on the mythical role of Volstagg in the sure-to-be-hit Thor later this year, Ray Stevenson portrays a more recent historical figure in Jonathan Hensleigh’s Kill the Irishman. Based on the true story of Danny Greene, a 1970s antihero credited with taking down Cleveland’s crime syndicate and crippling the nation’s mob scene, Kill the Irishman features a stellar cast including Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio and Stevenson in the starring role. And although they all do a great job of portraying the vile nature of everyone involved in the infamous turf war that resulted in numerous bombings during the summer of 1976, it doesn’t keep the story from becoming slightly confusing at times.
But with all the backstabbing and politics involved, it would be difficult to tell the story accurately without it being a little convoluted. From union leaders and cops to loan sharks and hitmen, everyone in Kill the Irishman resorts to heinous tactics, Greene included. But what sets him and his Irish-American cohorts apart from the clearly villainous mobsters is that, in the end, Greene is ultimately trying to create a better world for those he cares about, even though his tactics often bring them emotional distress and physical harm.
Danny Greene and his crew prepare to clean up the neighborhood
Like a cross between Robin Hood and the Punisher (a role Stevenson played in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone), the charismatic Greene tries to provide for his family, his neighborhood and his kinsmen the only way he knows how. With claims that he is descended from Celtic warriors, it just so happens that violence is usually the only way this tough guy knows how to resolve a conflict. Greene becomes a modern-day folk hero as he evades multiple attempts on his life and gets the best of the mafia (the luck o’ the Irish is clearly on his side), the police and everyone else involved in this gangland war.
Loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken) and Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) doing business
Like every other character in Kill the Irishman, Hensleigh and Stevenson do an effective job of establishing that Greene is not a good guy. But, during one of the film’s most important moments, an old woman of Irish descent tells Greene that there’s a little good in all Irishmen. And in the end, that proves to be true of Greene, as he ends the mafia’s stranglehold on Cleveland despite employing many of their own heartless tactics.
Kill the Irishman. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. Starring Ray Stevenson and Vincent D’Onofrio. Rated R. www.killtheirishmanmovie.com.
Review by Jonathan Williams