Film Review: RIFF RAFF (2024): Dito Montiel Scores a Moderate Victory With His Unique, Star-Studded Crime Picture
Riff Raff Review
Riff Raff (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Dito Montiel, written by John Pollono and starring Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Lewis Pullman, Gabrielle Union, Miles J. Harvey, Emanuela Postacchini, Michael Angelo Covino, P.J. Byrne, Brooke Dillman, Sage Spielman, Scott Michael Campbell, Lucinda Carr, Craig Castaldo, Tom Johnson, Eli Massillon and Derrick Simmons.
Filmmaker Dito Montiel is, perhaps, best known for the wholly original movie, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, but he’s in full Pulp Fiction mode in a slighter but still well-written piece of “anything goes” gangster fiction called Riff Raff. For the first 45-minutes or so, Montiel fools the viewer into thinking the story of RIff Raff is flat on the surface and meandering but don’t be fooled because Montiel has a few tricks up his sleeve that help make for some of the most original pieces of dialogue to be found at the movies this year. Riff Raff isn’t going to win any Oscars. It’s not that good. It’s unpredictable, though, and I found that to be its most appealing quality.
Jennifer Coolidge is featured in Riff Raff as Ruth, the offbeat -what else?- ex of former gangster, Vincent (Ed Harris), who is now in love with his partner, Sandy (Gabrielle Union). DJ (the ever intriguing Miles J. Harvey) is Vincent’s stepson and the movie sets up a conflict between these two characters at the beginning but we won’t understand what it is until much later in the picture. This movie is the type of film that has plenty of secrets in store for viewers patient enough to get through some of the opening slumps of the picture.
Starting with music that was prominently featured in Marty Scorsese’ After Hours, we can see where Montiel was inspired and who he was influenced by. Lewis Pullman plays Rocco who is involved with the nurse, Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) who helped him pick a lock (which was his handcuffs) while Rocco was in the hospital. Now pregnant, Marina alongside Rocco shows up to propel the plot forward and set it into motion they certainly do.
There are scenes of insanity that saturate Riff Raff. One such set of sequences involves a wild woman (the energetic Sage Spielman) who Rocco ends up taking into the hospital and despite trying to drop her off and leave her there, he ends up in some major hot water. Tossed into the movie is Pete Davidson as a hit man named Lonnie who works for Lefty (Bill Murray) who is trying to settle a score. That situation that Lefty is concerned about involves the death of his son, Johnny (a great Michael Angelo Covino). Covino and Murray participate in a scene about Johnny’s inability to have kids that features some of the best work Murray has ever done as an actor.
Then, the plot gets more advanced as the pieces of the puzzle fit together and Lefty promises to wipe out Vincent’s entire family unless Vincent can use his wits to outsmart the very intelligent Lefty. There are secrets involving the past that set the plot into a sort of tailspin that ultimately creates scenarios that compel the viewer thanks to uniquely crafted dialogue by writer John Pollono.
Coolidge gets to play her role to the max and when Lonnie is about to take her “out” or “whack” her, the scene cuts away leaving us to wonder if Lonnie really killed Ruth. This movie is full of such touches that work tremendously well in the movie’s favor.
There are flat scenes like DJ dressing up as a girl for a play but the movie isn’t flat at all, especially if you watch it a second time. This movie has fun with its structure and, like with Pulp Fiction, fans of incredibly sharp dialogue with a razor edge quality to it will find themselves in their glory. A one-time only viewing may leave one to find problems but everything would make perfect sense knowing the secrets of the plot that come in the latter part of the picture.
Lewis Pullman resembles his dad, Bill Pullman, so much that it’s hard to deny his tremendous charisma. Pullman’s Rocco is flawed just like a typical Bill Pullman character but Rocco is fighting to stay alive for his unborn child that he is about to have with Marina. Emanuela Postacchni is also solid as Marina, adding a distinct originality to her character that makes her an actress to look out for in potential future projects.
Michael Angelo Covino is also a gem of the movie and gets juicy dialogue fourfold as he bites into his role as Johnny with terrific precision. He and Murray are truly masters of the acting game. Ed Harris adds depth to his role and this is one of his least showy performances to date, yet the actor skillfully brings the character to life who comes into a major conflict with Sandy and DJ due to Lefty’s presence.
More must be said of Murray’s performance. While Coolidge chews into her own character quite a bit, Murray swallows the character he plays after chewing it and then some. Then, Murray spits it out again with interesting layers revealed that show that his character is a coldly calculated killer, but for good reason. There is complexity to Murray’s performance that makes it some of the best work of his career.
Riff Raff is a slow-burn. There’s no denying that. Still, this is easily Dito Montiel’s best work since A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. This new film, itself, is a guide to recognizing qualities of writing that make a movie very distinct and wholly original. Riff Raff is ultimately an actor’s movie. It may not always be an audience’s movie but if the viewer sticks it out to the end, there are plenty of rewards to be had.
Rating: 7/10
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