Lansky (2021 Film)
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''Lansky'' is a 2021 American
biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
about the famous gangster
Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
, written and directed by
Eytan Rockaway Eytan Rockaway is a film director, writer and producer. After graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he co-founded A Matter of Substance, an entertainment company. Rockaway directed and produced '' The Abandoned'', which was an offic ...
. It stars
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
,
Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...
,
AnnaSophia Robb AnnaSophia Robb (born December 8, 1993) is an American actress, model, and singer. She began as a child actress on television, making her leading debut as the titular role in '' Samantha: An American Girl Holiday'' (2004). She made her feature ...
,
Minka Kelly Minka Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows '' Parenthood'' (2010–2011), ''Charlie's Ang ...
,
David James Elliott David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', playing lead character Harmon Rabb, Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. Early life Elliott was born David William Smith on S ...
,
John Magaro John Robert Magaro (born February 16, 1983) is an American actor. He starred in '' Not Fade Away'' (2012). He also had roles in ''The Big Short'', '' Carol'' (2015) and the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and ''The Umbrella Academy''. ...
. It was released on June 25, 2021, by
Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...
.


Plot

When the aging
Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
is investigated one last time by the Feds, who suspect he has stashed away millions of dollars over half a century, the retired gangster spins a dizzying tale, revealing the untold truth about his life as the notorious boss of
Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...
and the
National Crime Syndicate The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to the multi-ethnic, loosely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian-American Mafia ...
.


Cast

*
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
as
Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
**
John Magaro John Robert Magaro (born February 16, 1983) is an American actor. He starred in '' Not Fade Away'' (2012). He also had roles in ''The Big Short'', '' Carol'' (2015) and the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and ''The Umbrella Academy''. ...
as Young Meyer Lansky *
Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...
as David Stone *
AnnaSophia Robb AnnaSophia Robb (born December 8, 1993) is an American actress, model, and singer. She began as a child actress on television, making her leading debut as the titular role in '' Samantha: An American Girl Holiday'' (2004). She made her feature ...
as Anne Lansky * Dodge Price as Young Buddy Lansky ** Beau Hart as Child Buddy Lansky *
Jackie Cruz Jackie Cruz (born August 8, 1986) is a Dominican American (Dominican Republic), Dominican–American actress, singer and former model. She is known for her role as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Bla ...
as Dafne * David Cade as Ben Siegel *
David James Elliott David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', playing lead character Harmon Rabb, Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. Early life Elliott was born David William Smith on S ...
as Frank Rivers *
Alon Abutbul Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India. Early life Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...
as Yoram Alroy *
Minka Kelly Minka Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows '' Parenthood'' (2010–2011), ''Charlie's Ang ...
as Maureen *
Shane McRae Shane McRae (born July 23, 1977) is an American actor. In 2017, McRae joined the cast of the Amazon Studios series ''Sneaky Pete'' in the role of Taylor. He also played Dickie Barrett in the Spectrum Original series ''Paradise Lost''. Early lif ...
as
Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumenta ...
* James Moses Black as R.J. Campbell * Claudio Bellante as
Joe Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born ...


Production

In May 2019, it was announced
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
,
Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...
,
Emory Cohen Emory Isaac Cohen (born March 13, 1990) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in ''Afterschool'' (2008). He is best known for his roles as AJ Cross in Derek Cianfrance's film ''The Place Beyond the Pines'' (2012), Tony Fiorello i ...
and
Austin Stowell Austin Stowell (born December 24, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in ''Dolphin Tale'', its sequel ''Dolphin Tale 2'', ''Love and Honor'' (2013), ''Whiplash'' (2014), and as Francis Gary Powers in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge ...
had joined the cast of the film, with
Alexandra Daddario Alexandra Anna Daddario (born March 16, 1986) is an American actress who had her breakthrough portraying Annabeth Chase in the ''Percy Jackson'' film series (2010–2013). In 2021, she starred in the first season of the HBO series ''The White ...
and
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...
in negotiations to join with
Eytan Rockaway Eytan Rockaway is a film director, writer and producer. After graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he co-founded A Matter of Substance, an entertainment company. Rockaway directed and produced '' The Abandoned'', which was an offic ...
directing from a screenplay he wrote. In February 2020, it was announced
AnnaSophia Robb AnnaSophia Robb (born December 8, 1993) is an American actress, model, and singer. She began as a child actress on television, making her leading debut as the titular role in '' Samantha: An American Girl Holiday'' (2004). She made her feature ...
,
Jackie Cruz Jackie Cruz (born August 8, 1986) is a Dominican American (Dominican Republic), Dominican–American actress, singer and former model. She is known for her role as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Bla ...
,
John Magaro John Robert Magaro (born February 16, 1983) is an American actor. He starred in '' Not Fade Away'' (2012). He also had roles in ''The Big Short'', '' Carol'' (2015) and the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and ''The Umbrella Academy''. ...
, David Cade,
David James Elliott David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', playing lead character Harmon Rabb, Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. Early life Elliott was born David William Smith on S ...
,
Alon Abutbul Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India. Early life Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...
and
Minka Kelly Minka Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows '' Parenthood'' (2010–2011), ''Charlie's Ang ...
had joined the cast of the film, with Cohen, Stowell, Daddario and Danza no longer attached.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
lasted 20 days in Alabama in February 2020.


Release

In May 2021,
Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...
acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for a theatrical and on VOD release on June 25, 2021.


Reception

On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Joe Leydon Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
from ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote "Keitel ..infuses his performance here with more than enough lion-in-winter gravitas to dominate every moment he is on screen, and quite a few when he isn't."
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
from ''
Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' said "Harvey Keitel takes a swing at portraying the 'Mob's Accountant' and Keitel is as reliable as he's always been - but while this is a well-filmed and well-acted story, much of the material has been covered in superior movies."


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansky) 2021 crime drama films 2021 films American biographical films American crime drama films Cultural depictions of Bugsy Siegel Cultural depictions of Lucky Luciano Cultural depictions of Meyer Lansky Films about the American Mafia Films about Jewish-American organized crime Films shot in Alabama Vertical Entertainment films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films