Out of all the documentaries I have seen this year, Momo: The Sam Gianca Story, would not be my top recommendation. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fantastic documentary and absolutely worth the watch for the shocking details alone. The film tends to drag bit, and is more informative than emotionally impacting. It’s a documentary about the infamous Chicago mob boss, Sam Giancana. The narration is done by two of Sam’s loving daughters, Bonnie Giancana and Fran Giancana, who are now both in their sixties. They are speaking about their father publicly for the first time in 30 years, and present audiences with never-before-revealed insight into Sam when he was at home.
Sam ran the Chicago Outfit from the late 50’s to the early sixties. He had a long running relationship with famous singer, Phyllis McGuire, from the McGuire Sisters. He had three daughters that he raised and adored very much. He was also best friends with Frank Sinatra.
Given his abusive background from his own father, Sam proved to be nothing like his old man when raising his little girls. Sam’s daughters loved their father, which is shocking that this man could be two totally different guys at once. Half the time he was a loving dad, while the other half he was one of the coldest hearted bosses ever to run Chicago.
Director, Dimitri Logothetis (Champions Forever, The Lost Angel), does a great job of not only showing us the two sides to Sam, but also revealing secrets about his life that I would have never known. Including how Sam helped John F. Kennedy get elected President by swinging several Midwest and eastern states. He was also hired by the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro.
Just from the batch of documentaries this year, if you want an informative and gripping documentary that will literally haunt you even after it is over, watch God Love Uganda. However, you will still be pleased with Momo: The Sam Giancana Story.
Available on DVD and Streaming on November 19th
Originally posted on RedCarpetCrash.com
Ortiz might want to focus more on his screenwriting skills versus his directing and acting. He proved he could deliver lines quickly, but failed to have any meaning behind them. As far as camera work goes, I’ve seen better filming from my past production classes. The beginning had some awkward out-of-focus shots, and the movie had too many unnecessary scenes. I’m not sure who was in charge of audio, but the sound was all over the place. At times, it was as if the characters had been mute or maybe they were just mumbling; I’m not really sure.
Surprisingly enough, the bigger picture behind this film isn’t about love, it is about life. Through some incredibly touching moments between Tim and his father, we are shown just how important is to take time and notice the little things in life.
On a good note, Naomi Watts did a great job. She looked so much like Diana. Watts wears a prosthetic nose, and works eagerly to capture Diana’s modest expressions and body language. And she nails it! It is just too bad she could not have been given a more powerful script. As for Naveen Andrews, he might have done better if the real Hasnat would have been involved in the making of this film. Instead, he seemed more confused about how he should feel about her in this movie than I did.
