Tribeca Film Festival 2023: FRESH KILLS

The Tribeca Film Festival has now come and gone, introducing more cinematic explorations and avenues for new voices to show their art. This has been an interesting year in the sense that multiple actors and actresses have brought their directorial debuts to the festival. While I haven’t seen them all (yet) my final film of the festival was a movie that feels as confident and sincere as the female characters embodied.

We have seen many movies about the lives of gangsters, but Jennifer Esposito‘s Fresh Kills delivers a view often avoided, skewered, or tampered with by the male gaze – that of a female in the predominantly male world of organized crime. It exceeded my expectations and was able to be both beguiling in a technical and storytelling fashion while also feeling true to female relationships and experiences.

A Familiar Story, A New Perspective

The film begins when the Larussos: Joe (Domenick Lombardozzi), Francine (Esposito), and their two girls move from Brooklyn to Staten Island for a fresh start. Francine knows what her husband does, but is hoping this will be good change for her daughter’s future. 

Rose (Emily Bader) and Connie (Odessa A’zion) grow up shared in their presentations of their surroundings but have varied ways that they accept (or deflect) the truth. They become different women, with different opinions on their father’s work. Fresh Kills covers their childhood in the 80s to adults in the 90s, as they navigate around the world of their family and friends, in organized crime.

While occasionally suffering from too much stuffed into the runtime, Esposito as a writer, in many ways, is the most impressive aspect of this venture. The human element and compelling nature of the character’s journey was  born off the page and that’s evident. She nurtures the relationships built, especially that of mother and daughters.

Her performance, as the steadfast but gentle matriarch, works exceptionally as a guide for our protagonists. Bader and A’zion are equal to the task of commanding the screen, bringing tenderness and ferocity to these women. Annabella Sciorra, as their aunt provides a strong supporting turn, further deepening the wealth of talent.

The film moves at a fast pace, and its final stretch – while effective – struggles with arriving at its destination too quickly, and after a two-hour run-time that tempers some of the effects.

Not without its tragic sentiments and an underlying dread, Fresh Kills also utilizes excellent production and costume design that hones the vibrancy of the time period. The film doesn’t curtsy to passiveness, it carves out this cinematic corner with confidence. Fresh Kills has got a bite, and it makes me excited to see what’s next for the director. 

Conclusion:

Jennifer Esposito creates something authentic and captivating. Fresh Kills is a uniquely compelling piece of work in the pantheon of gangster movies, grounded by powerful performances and a stellar directorial debut.

Fresh Kills had its premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. 

Watch Fresh Kills