''Monument Ave.'', originally titled ''Snitch'' in the United States and titled ''Noose'' in Australia, is a 1998 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime film directed by

Ted Demme Edward Kern Demme ( ; October 26, 1963 – January 13, 2002) was an American director, producer, and actor. Early life Demme was born in New York City, the son of Gail (née Kern) and Frederick Rogers Demme. He grew up in Rockville Centre, New ...

and starring

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole") and throu ...

. The film also stars

Famke Janssen Famke Beumer Janssen (; born ) is a Dutch actress. She played Xenia Onatopp in '' GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the ''Taken'' film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles are Rabbit in the Channel Four drama miniseries '' One Summer'' (1983), Joe O'Reilly in the biopic ''Michael Collins'' (1996 ...

, and

Lenny Clarke Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

Cam Neely Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Neely played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 1996. Nicknamed "'Bam ...

also makes a brief appearance as a man returning home from work who finds his house has been broken into. The film takes place in Charlestown, Massachusetts and centers on small-time criminal Bobby O'Grady (Leary), who becomes conflicted due to Charlestown's

code of silence A code of silence is a condition in effect when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be vital or important information voluntarily or involuntarily. The code of silence is usually followed because of threat of force or danger to onesel ...

. His loyalty and drive for self-preservation are tested, after two of his close family members (also criminals) are gunned down by their boss.

Plot summary

Bobby mentors his young cousin, Seamus (

Jason Barry Jason Barry (born 14 December 1972) is an Irish actor best known for his portrayal of Tommy Ryan in the 1997 film '' Titanic''. He also starred in '' The Still Life'' for which he won numerous awards. Early life Jason Barry was born in Artane ...

), into a life of drugs and crime soon after Seamus emigrates from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Bright, conscientious, but notably naive, Seamus finds himself unable to get used to the spontaneous dangers and recklessness of his new life in the United States. Seamus commits a hate crime on an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

youth who had crossed the racial boundary around Charlestown in the 1990s. Following this and another particularly traumatic incident, Seamus is afraid of further involving himself with Bobby and Bobby's circle of criminal friends. Seamus tells Bobby he wants to return to Dublin. The two argue after Seamus blames Bobby for dragging him into a dangerous and "damaging" lifestyle which he never wanted. Seamus is killed soon afterward by crime boss Jackie O'Hara ( Colm Meaney). O'Hara mistakenly believes that Seamus told police about O'Hara's criminal operations. O'Hara had ordered an earlier

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

against Bobby and Seamus' cousin Teddy (

Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, in ...

), because Teddy had made a deal with police. The deal concerned a reduced prison sentence.

Cast

... Bobby O'Grady * Colm Meaney ... Jackie O'Hara *

... Katy O'Connor *

... Hanlon *

... Teddy *

... Mouse * Lyndon Byers ... Fitzie *

Melissa Fitzgerald Melissa Fitzgerald is an American actress and the Senior Director of the nonprofit organization Justice For Vets. As an actress, she may be best known for portraying Carol Fitzpatrick on ''The West Wing''. Early life and education Fitzgerald ...

... Sheila *

... Seamus *

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including '' Land of Plenty'', ''Stripes'', '' City Limits'', ''Nix ...

... Digger *

Greg Dulli Greg Dulli (born May 11, 1965) is an American musician from Hamilton, Ohio. Debuting as a member of the rock band the Afghan Whigs in 1986, Dulli has been a member of the Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins, and in 2020 released his debut solo albu ...

... Shang *

Jeanne Tripplehorn Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn (born June 10, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' on Broadway. Her film career began with the ro ...

... Annie

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 21 critics.

References

External links

* * 1998 films 1998 crime drama films American crime drama films 1990s English-language films Films about organized crime in the United States Films set in Boston Films about Irish-American culture Films about immigration to the United States Films set in Massachusetts Films shot in Massachusetts Films directed by Ted Demme The Kushner-Locke Company films American neo-noir films 1990s American films {{1990s-crime-drama-film-stub