This is one of the better movies of the crime drama genre. It depicts a warped man who for a while through sheer audacity became a celebrity. Armand Assante's performance is outstanding. His resemblance to John Gotti is uncanny. He succeeds in conveying Gotti's contempt for social convention and his proclivity for violence. John Gotti was such a loose cannon that even his fellow gangsters were afraid of him. The movie raises a question: how could American society produce such a socially dysfunctional character? Gotti was a predator; his prey were his fellow gangsters. The movie also effectively depicts the other principle character of the story, Sam Gravano. Most of the movie revolves around Gottis' relationship with Gravano. Gotti made the plans, fingered his victims and Gravano acted, with murderous results. What makes this movie so powerful and so disturbing is that Gotti is not a fictional character and the murders he committed were real.
