Federal Hill (1994)

82% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(480 ratings)

A group of friends from a rough, predominantly Italian-American neighborhood consider their future in surroundings dominated by petty crime in this drama. Nicky (Anthony DeSando) and his pals grew up together in the Federal Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island, where Nicky makes ends meet by… More A group of friends from a rough, predominantly Italian-American neighborhood consider their future in surroundings dominated by petty crime in this drama. Nicky (Anthony DeSando) and his pals grew up together in the Federal Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island, where Nicky makes ends meet by dealing cocaine and stealing cars. His best friend Ralphie (Nicholas Turturro), who works in construction, is prone to wild mood swings and has a dangerous penchant for breaking into the homes of local wise guys, including mob boss Sal (Frank Vincent). He also has a barely sublimated sexual attraction to Nicky which he tries to camoflage with outbursts of anti-gay violence. Nicky falls for Wendy (Libby Langdon), an archeology student at nearby Brown University, when she buys some coke from him for a sorority party; while Wendy treats their affair casually, Nicky thinks that they have a future together, and he considers travelling with her to Italy for an upcoming archeological dig. Ralphie, however, resents Nicky for spending so much time with his new girlfriend, which makes his reckless streak even more pronounced. While Federal Hill was shot and released theatrically in black and white, a colorized version was distributed on home video over the objections of director Michael Corrente; the original monochrome version was later released on tape as well. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Michael Corrente
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1994 Wide
On DVD: Feb 8, 2005
Studio: Trimark

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Corrente's handling of class divisions (one of the heroes starts seeing a Brown University senior he sells cocaine to) and the body language of the performances keep things fresh.
David Stratton, Variety
Producer-director-scripter Michael Corrente manages to bring freshness to basically derivative material in Federal Hill, thanks to a number of excellent performances and some evocative black-and-white images of a world he knows intimately.
Caryn James, New York Times
Federal Hill is lively and likable, a first film with the kind of swift action, clever dialogue and clear-cut characters that suggest an expert director's touch.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Federal Hill has sincerity on its side and a fair degree of authenticity.
Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
There is nothing terribly different or exciting about what he shows us; the film is gripping in a conventional, formulaic way.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie has a good ear for the way the characters talk, dress, move and live; it's another Italian-American slice-of-life, well acted and directed.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Federal Hill is like Scorsese's Mean Streets of Rhode Island, with the same focus on male camaraderie, its merits and its price.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
There are lots of admirable things about Federal Hill, starting with Richard Crudo's sparkling black-and-white cinematography
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
What sets this film apart is authenticity.
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews
As a first film this low-budget, semi-autobiographical crime film is polished and has some interesting moves that make the familiar aspects seem a little fresher.