The Public Eye

It's nice to see Joe Pesci again. I just wish there was a better story to involve me with it all.

A soulful, moving performance from Joe Pesci in a decent period drama that proves he could’ve been a Bob Hoskins-type leading man. Thank goodness for that post-Goodfellas Oscar glow for bringing us this and My Cousin Vinny.

All I wanted from this movie was Joe Pesci and I got so much more. It was a great noir style movie with a well-written story. It's not original and cliched because that's what noir is for christ sake so if you didn't watch the noir classics before, don't watch this. If you like the genre, it's worth seeing.

rewatch. In which Pesci celebrates his post-Oscar A-list ascendancy by taking a ride on the (Barbara) Hershey Highway. Not science fiction.

Pesci shines in an atypical role loosely based on a real life crime photographer, and Franklin's period evocation, presumably created on studio backlots, is reminiscent of great noirs without scaling the same heights.The problem is the story rather the setting; Franklin's script lacks layers and intrigue, and this viewer couldn't help but feel that he missed a real opportunity to create a biopic about a man's usual dedication to capturing violence and bloodshed, regardless of the personal cost.

Cheap televisual and horribly cliched

Great mood, great cinematography, great acting, but the story is not interesting and a lot of dull written scenes.

An unusual little movie.