A unique story is not what makes this crime drama good, because similar
stories had been done multiple times, but the performances, especially by
Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke, make up for the lack of originality.
Paulie (Ethan Hawke) and Brian (Mark Ruffalo) are childhood friends
growing up on the streets of South Boston, and they turn to petty crime to
make spending money.
Years later, the pair are still best friends, and still doing crimes to
get by, but now Brian is married with two kids. Older but not smarter,
they eventually get caught and sentenced to 5+ years in jail. Paulie draws
an additional 6 months for his part in a beat-down that they administer to
a convicted child molester with the help of the guards, but Brian does
not, so he is released first.
Although he tries to stay straight, Brian is pressured by his need to
feed his family, so when Paulie gets released, the pair plan a new score,
with both vowing never to get caught and return to jail.
The performances save this predictable crime flick, and Amanda Peet does a
very brief nude shot, only a few frames, really, but I still enjoyed it.
The caps are from the Blu-ray version.