Based on a true story, Daniel Therriault's script captures the grit of the streets -- with its occasional hints of urban poetry -- more successfully than it does the rehabilitation (except for an episode in a small Midwestern town). [...] through it all, Epps' body language and facial expressions so deeply reflect the constraints and mortal danger of the tight-turning circle in which he must turn his life around that the surprisingly low-key resolution carries with it more emotional impact than the unrealistic big bangs so often supplied. Don Vito Leoni, the godfather of a crime family, is awfully depressed.

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