Once the most feared bootlegger in Chicago, mobster Al Capone is finally brought down when he is successfully prosecuted for tax evasion. At the age of 40, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, he is released after the government deems him to no longer be a threat as his mind is slowly rotting from untreated neurosyphilis. Now retired and living with his family in Palm Island, Florida, Capone remains under surveillance by federal agents, as they think he may be faking his insanity. Forced to sell many of his remaining belongings to pay old debts and support himself, Capone begins to have hallucinations and loses control of his motor functions as his disease progresses. He acknowledges that he hid $10 million before he was convicted, although he cannot remember where it is. After Capone, whose memory is nearly gone, has a physical confrontation with his wife Mae, she instructs her husband's bodyguards to keep everyone away from him. Meanwhile, Capone has increasingly debilitating visions of the men he killed and many of the violent acts he committed throughout his life. His mental capacity continues to deteriorate, until a psychiatrist hired to evaluate him declares that his IQ is no more than that of a child. Wracked with guilt, and having alienated all around him, Capone eventually dies of complications from his syphilis in January 1947 at the age of 48. His surviving family changes their name from Capone, and the money he allegedly hid away has never been recovered.
Cast
Production
It was announced in October 2016 that Tom Hardy would star as Al Capone in the film, then known as Fonzo, which would be directed, written and edited by Josh Trank. Filming was initially eyed to begin in the summer of 2017, with Hardy stating it would be released sometime in 2018. Hardy instead ended up filming Venom in 2017, and in March 2018 announced Fonzo as his next project. Later that month, Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Kathrine Narducci, Jack Lowden, Noel Fisher and Tilda Del Toro joined the cast. Filming began on March 19, 2018 in New Orleans, and lasted through May 15. On April 15, 2020, the trailer was released with its new title, Capone. EL-P composed the film score. Milan Records has released the soundtrack.
Release
On May 12, 2020 Vertical Entertainment released the film digitally in the United States and Canada through Premium video on demand. The film was originally set to have a theatrical release, but these plans changed due to movie theater closures that started in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The film received a theatrical release in Lithuania later that June, where it has grossed $23,652.
Reception
VOD sales
In its first few days of release, Capone was the number-two rented film on iTunes. Over its first weekend, it ranked third on iTunes and fourth on both FandangoNow and Google Play. Over its first ten days the film made $2.5 million from digital sales, a record for Vertical Entertainment. IndieWire called the results "quite good" but "far from being a money-", saying that Vertical would see about 75% of the initial gross, and that the film could leg out to $4–5 million in sales. In its second weekend of release the film fell to 11th on iTunes and seventh on Fandango.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 4.92/10. The website's consensus reads: "Tom Hardy makes the most of his opportunity to tackle a challenging role, but Capone is too haphazardly constructed to support his fascinating performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Writing for TheWrap, Steve Pond said: "It's nuts, it's a mess and it's pretty damn entertaining if you don't mind characters pooping the bed and getting stabbed in the neck", saying that "Tom Hardy laughs in the face of conventional notions of good v. bad acting." Scout Tafoya writing for Consequence of Sound gave the film an A- grade and noted that "Somehow, Trank had energy left over, despite wrangling one of the most eccentric performers working, to make a satisfying haunted house film as well" and called it "one of the most bravely singular and uncommon films you'll see this year." Owen Gleiberman of Variety called the film "the last half hour of The Irishman crossed with the doddering-legend parts of Citizen Kane" and said that Hardy gives "a mumbly Method showboat performance that's authentic on the surface, but there isn't enough beneath the mob mannerisms." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "C-" grade and wrote: "Nevertheless, the director and his subject are ultimately buried together in the same boat: We're made to understand their suffering, but given no reason to root for their salvation."
