About Me
the film, Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, becomes involved in the mafia at a young age: as he says in beginning with the famous line, "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."As a boy, Henry idolized the Lucchese crime family gangsters in his blue-collar, predominantly Italian New York City neighborhood in Brooklyn, and in 1955 quit school and went to work for them at a local cab stand, much to the dismay of his working-class parents. His blue-collar abusive father, perhaps jealous of his son's success, confronts him with the fact that he has played hookey for months, and beats him with a belt. Upon hearing this, Henry's "friends" threaten the local mail carrier not to deliver any more letters from the school or school board to his house. The local Lucchese mob capo, Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), (based on the actual Lucchese mobster Paul Vario) and Cicero's close associate Jimmy Conway (De Niro), (based on actual associate, Jimmy Burke), help cultivate the boy's developing criminal career. 'Jimmy the Gent' makes quite an impression on young Henry, for everyone likes him, and most of the truck drivers would tip Jimmy off on their better hauls in exchange for a bribe and a small piece of the score. During this time, Jimmy and Henry start a bit of business by selling stolen cigarettes to passing people, and Henry is introduced to a new friend just around his age by Jimmy: Tommy DeVito (based on Thomas DeSimone). However, during a sale, Henry is arrested and taken to court, where he wisely tells the police nothing, is released thanks to a judge on the "family payroll" and is lauded by his superiors for "taking his first pinch like a man".
From left to right: Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, Robert De Niro as Jimmy "The Gent" Conway, Paul Sorvino as Paul Cicero, and Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito. Photo credit: Dirck HalsteadAs adults, Henry and Tommy (now played by Joe Pesci in a widely acclaimed and Academy Award-winning performance) conspire with Conway to steal some of the billions of dollars of cargo passing through Idlewild Airport (later JFK). They help out in a key moneymaking heist, stealing over half a million dollars from the Air France cargo terminal in 1967 and paying Cicero his percentage of the take as per the mafia's code of tribute.Henry also meets and falls in love with Karen (Lorraine Bracco), a young woman whose spunk and personality interest him deeply, on a group date with Tommy and his girlfriend. The next night, he stands her up, only to be confronted by an angry Karen and, as a result, becomes interested in her no-nonsense attitude. This results in him taking her to the Copacabana club (mostly known for the famous steady-cam shot that flows beautifully through the bowels of the club and onto the main floor) two to three times a week. Although there is conflict between the families because Karen's parents are Jewish and Hill is half-Irish and half-Italian. (Because of his and Jimmy Conway's own Irish ancestry, they can never be actual "made men" – full members of an Italian crime family.) Despite their religious backgrounds, Henry pretends to be half-Jewish ('just the good half' as he says to Karen's mother) and marries her. Later, after he and Jimmy threaten a competitor out of business, Henry discovers that a neighbor tried to rape Karen. Henry then takes Karen home, and while she waits in her doorway, Henry thrusts a short-barreled revolver into his waistband and crosses the street. Steve and his two brothers are looking under the hood of Steve's red sport's car when they notice Henry, walking towards them with a certain measure of psychosis. Steve thinks he'll be tough by saying, "What do you want fucko? You want something?", but Henry approaches without a word, grabs Steve's hair with the left hand, while the right hand pulls out the revolver from the waistband. He brings it up, then smashes it down onto Steve's face. The clanking sound, absense of words, steady camera shot and pure violence of the scene will stun you, leave you breathless. The gun hits home like a dinner gong eleven times. You are surprised to see blood on Steve's face. Henry yells angrily, inches from Steve, who is now on the ground, "I swear on my fucking mother, if you touch her again your dead!" Then Henry walks across the street, looking like a bat from hell, and gives the bloody gun to Karen. She hides the gun in her milk-box and that's the last we see on the subject. When Karen learns firsthand what Henry actually does for a living, she is fascinated instead of repelled; it impresses her that Henry has the nerve to steal instead of just "sitting around, waiting for a handout."
