Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai-Jim Jarmusch
Ghost Dog was the second film by Jim Jarmusch that I had seen. The other being Coffee and Cigarettes.
Based upon the original style of Coffee and Cigarettes and how much I enjoyed that film, I figured I had slept on Ghost Dog for far too long. It has been recommended to me by multiple respected sources and was scored and heavily influenced by the Wu-Tang Clan.
Unfortunately, the inconsistencies and sluggish pace of Ghost Dog just didn't do it for me.
As much as I would love to lie to myself out of my beloved loyalty to all things Wu-Tang and heap praise and acclaim, this one was simply a miss.
In the mafia, many arbitrary pawns are used to do inter-house "cleaning". They brush upon this several times in the Sopranos and you can read about it in real-life instances that are not hard to find with a simple Google search. The primary goals are to eliminate the target and erase any lingering arousals of suspicion.
It was how Joe Columbo was taken out, Frank Cali, and even Lee Harvey Oswald.
In those cases, the pawn was either eliminated almost immediately or shortly thereafter or dressed to fit the outfit of a psychopath. Undoubtedly, though, these are merely cosmetics to ensure that the truth of the matter never gets out.
In Ghost Dog, Forest Whitaker's character is marked for death because he whacked a made guy.
OK. No problem there. Made guys are deemed untouchable by outsiders.
But this was an in-house sanctioned hit for a flagrant violation of mafia code. Not to mention, one performed by both a trusted and previously utilized associate. Therefore, after having performed the hit to perfection, Ghost Dog should have received nothing but monetary compensation for a job well done.
But no, the clownish commission of a goofy Mafia family that listens to hip-hop music declares him a dead man and the hunt is on.
Number one, I know Jim Jarmush read somewhere that mobsters love to listen to hip-hop. And, in the case of Little Vic (a hip-hop artist and son of Victor Orena), this may be true. But so far as the mustache Pete's were concerned, it was a well-known fact that, while they did business with the black community, they were not fond of African Americans in the least bit, and would not tolerate any rap music to be played in their social clubs instead of Sinatra or Dean. One need look no further than the "Proshai, Livushka" episode of the Sopranos to get a general feel of the blatant racist attitude adopted by and large by the Italian mafia, or, the exchange between Tommy Devito and his gommar in Goodfellas.
Date-"Oh, it's unbelievable. You could see how a white girl could fall for him…"
Tommy Devito-"What?"
It isn't pretty. But these were the facts of that life. Which are pretty much brushed aside. Couple this with the Top Dog taking refuge in a mansion while the landlord is giving the wise guys a hard time for being behind in their rent and I lost my patience with Ghost Dog.
Forest Whitaker was pretty good in the title role. I'll give it that, and when RZA is in control of the score you can't go wrong. But the script was pretty poor for my taste and simply asked for too much slack in my rope of imagination than I was willing to give.
Stars: **
Verdict: Pass
Cousins: The Professional, Romeo Is Bleeding, The Mechanic, Munich, Bullet