As written by Emilio Mauro and directed by James Mottern BY THE GUN is another Boston Mafia flick, but this one is a bit more sensitive to character development and conflicts of the gang world than most. Perhaps most of that is due to Ben Barnes very exceptional portrayal of the lead character, but kudos must be passed around to a supporting cast that is less concerned with star turns then depicting the miasma of Mafioso life, perhaps the most dysfunctional concept of 'family' ever created.

Nick Tortano (Ben Barnes) is a smooth-talking, ladies man, ambitious criminal from the streets of Boston. After years spent working for and idolizing the Italian gangsters he finally proves himself to the boss Salvatore Vitaglia (Harvey Keitel) and becomes a made man. However, once inside, Nick conflicts with a moneymaker for the Mafia and begins to drive a wedge between him and Boss. In the sidebars, Nick's 'driver' is the fat but fearless George Mullins (Slaine) who makes Nick's initial difficult kill for him, Nick's real father (Paul Ben- Victor) and younger brother Vito (an impressive turn for Kenny Wormald),a love affair with Ali Matazano (Leighton Meester),and various conflicts with Salvatore's enemies. There are some fine minor character roles by Toby Jones, Ron Komora, Tully Banta-Cain, William Bloomfield, Richie Coaster and others, but basically this is Ben Barnes film –a confused young man who makes some wrong choices but does so in a manner that keeps our compassion.

Not a great film, nor does it pretend to be, but for a small Indie look at the autopsy of the Boston Mafia it fares well.

Nicky (Ben Barnes) is an overly cocky punk criminal. His slow witted cousin George (Slaine) does his dirty work as Nicky doesn't have the guts to do his own killing, but he is willing to take the credit. Nicky gets his dream of becoming "family" by "the gun and the knife" as their code states.

He quickly gets in over his head as he hasn't outgrown being a punk and his cousin causes additional rifts with his free lance schemes.

Nicky is given advice "When you are young, you have options. Later on you don't. Enjoy the summer, it will soon be winter." This nice little metaphor was part of the dialogue which I thought was fairly decent. The characters were all the same that we have seen in all these other mafia-crime films. Nicky, our main character is not likeable by design. George becomes our next criminal protagonist, but things change there too. There was no subplot of cops investigating killings or any criminal activity, as the film centered on Nicky, who was in nearly every scene.

While the film wasn't bad, about the waning days of organized crime, it wasn't a film that will stick in your mind. Makes for a good rental.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, FF stripper nudity (Julie Ann Dawson ? Stacey Queripel + others) sincerest

It's Difficult to Make a Boring Mafia Movie. There is So Much Gold to Mine that Even a Half-Hearted Dip Into the Dirt and You Can Dig Up Some Old Bones Worth Studying. So Why is this Wannabe So Dull, Unconvincing, and Bad.

Well, the Movie has No Soul. it is a Lackluster Affair with Less Rhythm than a White Rapper. It Spits and Sputters its Uninteresting Story Delivering Cliché Upon Cliché. Hell, Clichés are Clichés for a Reason. They are Tried and True Things That Work. But Not Here.

The Movie has Some Bad Acting with Character's Meant to Be Edgy, Spouting Middle of the Road Rants About This and That. It is So Familiar and Shop Worn it Leaves the Movie with No Room to Entertain, At All.

A Couple of Scenes Show Some Zip and Promise, Like the Confrontation Between Nick and His "Friend" (Slaine),as Nick Must Confront the Fact that He is a "Poser". Harvey Keitel and Toby Jones are Wasted. In Fact Their Performances are So Restrained and Sleepy, Maybe They Both Were Wasted. Who Knows.

This Movie is Simply Not Entertaining and is Guilty of Playing Around in the Mob Genre where it is Not Recommended to Venture Unless You've Got a Pair. This Thing is a Eunuch.