Hoffa is a 1992 French-American biographical crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by David Mamet, based on the life of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. Most of the story is told in flashbacks before ending with Hoffa's mysterious disappearance. Jack Nicholson plays Hoffa, and DeVito plays Robert Ciaro, an amalgamation of several Hoffa associates over the years. The film features John C. Reilly, Robert Prosky, Kevin Anderson, Armand Assante, and J. T. Walsh in supporting roles. The original music score is by David Newman. The film has garnered predominantly mixed reviews.
Video Hoffa
Plot
On July 30, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa and his longtime friend, Bobby Ciaro are impatiently waiting in the parking lot of a roadhouse diner. Moving in vignettes from his early years when Hoffa was a Teamsters union organizer who was working to organize the various trucking firms and laundries around Detroit, Michigan, Hoffa's life over the preceding four decades gradually unfolds. In 1935, a young Hoffa approaches a parked truck, inside of which driver Ciaro is taking a nap. Hoffa pitches the benefits of joining the Teamsters and gives Ciaro a business card, on which he has written: "Give this man whatever he needs." A few days later, Ciaro reports to work to find Hoffa attempting to organize the workers. Hoffa blurts out they'd ridden 85 miles together, and Ciaro is fired. Ciaro later accosts Hoffa with a Bowie knife, but Hoffa's associate Billy Flynn pulls a gun and Ciaro drops the knife. Ciaro joins the pair in the arson bombing of a laundry whose owner has refused to cooperate with the Teamsters. Flynn is badly burned and dies. Ciaro succeeds him as Hoffa's right-hand man.
During a Teamsters strike, strikers fight with non-union workers and police, Hoffa is taken to a local Mafia boss. Ciaro, who speaks Italian, comes along and translates. An alliance between the Teamsters and the mob is formed. Hoffa meets Carol D'Allesandro, who would become his closest mob ally. Hoffa rises to the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. His illegal activities include the use of Teamster funds to make loans to the mob. At a Congressional hearing, Hoffa is questioned by Robert F. Kennedy regarding his suspicious union activities. A loud and bitter feud between Kennedy and Hoffa grows, especially after John F. Kennedy is elected President and Bobby becomes Attorney General.
Hoffa, on a hunting trip with D'Allesandro, discusses ways to exploit the union's pension fund. Having no paper with them, the plans are sketched on the back of a hunting license. Subsequently, Hoffa is betrayed by a junior associate, Peter Connelly, who testifies at Hoffa's trial. The critical evidence against Hoffa is the hunting license on which the plans to raid the Teamster's pension fund were written. Hoffa surrenders to federal officials and serves time in a Pennsylvania federal prison while Connelly's uncle, Frank Fitzsimmons, takes over as Teamsters boss. Ciaro, also convicted and imprisoned, is freed and immediately begins working for Hoffa's release. D'Allesandro suggests that the Teamsters endorse Richard M. Nixon for President, so that in exchange for Teamster endorsement, Hoffa will receive a presidential pardon.
Hoffa gets out and expects to again run the Teamsters, but learns that one of the conditions of his release is that he is ineligible to run the union for 10 years. Hoffa meets with D'Allesandro and demands to the gangster that Fitzsimmons be killed, which resulted in someone wiring Fitz's car to explode. D'Allesandro believes that Hoffa is "too hot" and says, "I can't get close to it." Hoffa leaves with the matter unresolved.
Ciaro delivers a message to D'Allesandro that unless the matter of Fitzsimmons can be settled, Hoffa will go to the press. D'Allesandro says to tell Hoffa that "everything's gonna be all right", and they should all meet the next day at "the roadhouse", a remote diner.
Hoffa and Ciaro spend several hours waiting in the parking lot, but D'Allesandro never arrives. A purported union driver has been waiting for hours in the diner, allegedly for a part for his truck, engaging Ciaro in conversation. He is invited to meet Hoffa in person by bringing a cup of coffee to the car. The driver reveals himself to be a hit man as he draws a gun. Just exactly who sent this 'hit man' is not revealed, however, the implication is that he was sent by D'Allesandro in retaliation for Hoffa's threat to 'go to the press'. Hoffa and Ciaro are gunned down in the parking lot. Several associates arrive and dump Ciaro's body on top of Hoffa's and they get in the car and drive it into the back of a large truck that had driven up as the shootings were taking place. The camera focuses on the roll-up door of the truck showing the different state plates, implying a final bit of irony: that the truck driver, in all likelihood, is a Teamster driver. The truck drives off into the sunset.
Maps Hoffa
Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Jimmy Hoffa
- Danny DeVito as Robert Ciaro
- Armand Assante as Carol D'Allesandro
- J. T. Walsh as Frank Fitzsimmons
- John C. Reilly as Peter Connelly
- Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy
- John P. Ryan as Red Bennett
- Frank Whaley as Young Trucker in Diner
- Natalia Nogulich as Josephine Hoffa
- Nicholas Pryor as Hoffa's attorney
- Robert Prosky as Billy Flynn
- Paul Guilfoyle as Ted Harmon
- Karen Young as Young Woman at RTA
- Cliff Gorman as Solly Stein
Release
Critical response
The movie gained a mixed response. Hoffa currently holds a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews.
Box office
The film was released on Christmas Day 1992 in 1,066 theaters. It debuted at no. 5 at the US box office. making $6.4 million in its opening weekend. In its second weekend, it dropped at #6 and grossed 4.8 million. It went on to gross $24.2 million in the U.S. and $5 million overseas, for a worldwide total of 29.3 million.
Accolades
Hoffa earned two Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Makeup. Nicholson's performance sharply divided critics, with the actor receiving both a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor. DeVito also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Director. Ultimately, none of the nominated awards were won. The film was also nominated for the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores - Nominated
References
External links
- Hoffa on IMDb
- Hoffa at the TCM Movie Database
- Hoffa at AllMovie
- Hoffa at Rotten Tomatoes
- Hoffa at Box Office Mojo
Source of article : Wikipedia
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