‘Clover’ director/star mines mob genre for laughs

Mob movies can be distinguished by their violence or ethnicities but rarely as in “Clover” do they resemble a Road Runner cartoon where the comical exploits of two brothers become a virtually 100-minute nonstop race to stay alive.

For director and star Jon Abrahams, 42, that means his character Mickey is practically attached to Mark Webber’s Jackie.

“We had a couple of titles before ‘Clover,’” the filmmaker revealed. “‘The Irish Twins’ was something I had been tinkering around with for a long time, a strangely Shakespearean story of two brothers who, separated by nine months, are ‘Irish twins.’”

Jackie is incapable of paying his debts to Chazz Palminteri’s mafioso and, as it’s up to Mickey to somehow save his brother from being rubbed out, the chase begins.

Abrahams cautions us not to see Mickey as the sane would-be savior of perpetual screw-up Jackie. “The truth of it is I think they’re both fools. That was the idea from inception,” he said. “They are running as their fate is being written.

“I’ve known Mark for a really long time,” he continued. “Mark and I were both young upcoming actors in New York City 25 years ago and would see each other at every audition. He’s an accomplished indie film director himself.

“When it got time to casting ‘Clover,’ I realized you can’t buy chemistry, so it’s good to cast people you know and have relationships with.”

Abrahams developed the script with Michael Testone but starring as Mickey “wasn’t originally our intention. It’s not a deal breaker that I have to act in every film I direct but as we went down the line, we did it.

“For whatever reason, directing myself is not the hardest part of making the movie. I know there’s at least one actor who is going to listen to me,” he joked.

“I also have trusted friends by the monitor who can ‘direct’ my performance in case I need it. I rely on that. The rest is being able to multi-task in your brain.

“Sure, there are times I get lost in a scene and forget I need to direct the other actors. But for whatever reason I’m easy with that.”

As for that nonstop pace, “We built it as what it is,” he said. “As soon as it turns in the first act, it’s off and running until the very end.”

(“Clover” is available for streaming on Amazon.)

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Jzzmv1