- BOTTOM LINE: Ruthless Collections Of Gangster Clichés
Rating: 2.25/5
| Platform Netflix | Genre Crime |
What is the Story about?
The Ruthless tracks the journey of Santo Russo (Riccardo Scamarcio) from childhood to becoming a mafia gangster covering various businesses. The growth, professionally and personally, is what we get to see.
Performances?
Riccardo Scamarcio plays the lead role of the gangster businessman who is out there to make a killing, literally and fugitively. The actor pitches the character in a massy way which makes it an easy watch. There is no great nuance or solid ‘acting’ on offer, but it goes with the overall superficial nature of the script and the tone of the movie.
Within the calculatedly done over the top act, there are few subtly put fun and evil doing expressions that do impress. In fact, Riccardo hogs the whole limelight and no one else gets a similar scope. The Ruthless would be an utter tedious watch if not for him.
Direction
If one is a follower of the gangster genre of movies, there is nothing new in The Ruthless that we have already not seen before. It is an already been-there-done-that kind of kitsch. The only change is that it is set in Milan, the backdrop is different.
Right from the beginning until the end, The Ruthless ticks all the familiar gangster tropes. It is also true that if one is attempting a movie in the genre, there are bound to be similarities after all one can’t entirely undo them. However, that is where the talent of the director, and writers lie, in bringing the difference, getting the local milieu in place to set it apart from others. In The Ruthless, we only get a glimpse of that.
The beginning and the end of The Ruthless is extremely generic and boring. It is in the middle where the narrative gets mildly engaging when there is some shift is tone without going totally sideways. There is a build-up to something happening, that process is okay watch even though the end may not be satisfying.
Overall, if you are a fan of the genre or if it’s a guilty pleasure sort of thing, and wouldn’t mind the generic nature of the narrative and performances, The Ruthless is an okayish, one-time watch. Others can skip it or give it a try using the fast forward option.
Others Artists?
There are a few characters in the movie besides the hero, but none of them is fully developed. Either they come into the half-way or end somewhere in the process. Sara Serraiocco starts well then settles into a very clichéd role only to be redeemed a bit by the end. Maria-Ange Casta is a beautiful distraction portrayed similarly in the narrative. Alessio Pratico character graph should have been handled well. He never rises above the sidekick part and is forgotten eventually. The rest have even small pieces, and despite a compelling description and talk, they don’t make any impact.
Music and other departments?
The music by Emiliano di Meo and Riccardo Sinigallia is funky and gives a fresh vibe to the proceedings. Along with the cinematography by Gian Filippo Corticelli, and editing by Clelio Benevento, the actions are slick and crisp. Technically, The Ruthless is well mounted. The writing, again, could have been better, a lot of time is spent in establishing the set up with expositions and similarly is explaining what happens.
Highlights?
Individual Technical Departments
Length
Parts of Mid-segment
Drawbacks?
Generic Gangster Story
Superficial Narrative
No Emotional Connect
Did I enjoy it?
Yes, a few parts
Will you recommend it?
Yes but with huge reservations
The Ruthless Review by Siddartha Toleti
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