''The Last Rites of Joe May'' is a 2011 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by Joe Maggio. The film stars

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in the ...

(in his last role during his lifetime),

Jamie Anne Allman Jamie Anne Allman (née Brown; born April 6, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Terry Marek on AMC's '' The Killing'', and Connie Riesler on the FX police drama ''The Shield''. Early life Allman grew up on a farm in Ka ...

Ian Barford Ian Barford is an American stage and television actor. He has appeared on Broadway in '' August: Osage County'' and ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. He was nominated for best actor in a play at the 74th Tony Awards for his ...

, Meredith Droeger,

Chelcie Ross Chelcie Claude RossAccording to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records ...

and

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...

. The film was released on November 4, 2011, by Tribeca Film.

Plot

Leaving the hospital after a long stay there caused by

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, Joe May returns alone to his

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

neighborhood by bus and steps into a tavern, where he is greeted by a bartender with, "I thought you were dead." His landlord thought likewise, renting out Joe's tenement apartment during his unexplained absence. Joe discovers a single mother and her young daughter, Jenny and Angelina, living there now. He respects their privacy and sleeps outdoors, unprepared for the frigid night in his thin leather jacket and risking a relapse of his illness. After looking up his pal Billy in an assisted-living center, Joe accepts an offer by Angelina to share the apartment and rent. Leery at first of the little girl, he soon takes a liking to her, and she to him. He also takes an instant dislike to Jenny's boyfriend, an abusive police detective named Buczkowski. In need of money, Joe seeks permission from a local crime figure, Lenny, to move some stolen meat. The scheme goes badly, Joe having great difficulty in carrying a heavy side of lamb by himself, with a hungry dog pursuing him through an alley. Cold, broke and lonely, he has little seemingly to live for, so when Jenny's boyfriend becomes violent again, Joe comes to her rescue, with fatal consequences.

Cast

as Joe May *

as Jenny *

as Stanley Buczkowski *Meredith Droeger as Angelina *

as Billy Tidrow *

as Lenny * Matt DeCaro as Chevy *Phil Ridarelli as Landlord *Ernest Perry Jr. as Driver *Mike Bacarella as George *Rich Komenich as Seymour *Craig Bailey as Cab Driver *Roderick Peeples as Butcher Shop Manager *Brian Boland as Scotty

Release

The film premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

on April 22, 2011. The film was released on November 4, 2011, by Tribeca Film.

References

External links

* 2011 films American drama films 2011 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-drama-film-stub