Ron Perlman‘s appearance is wasted. While he’s front and center in the promotional material, he appears sporadically in Clover, and it is clear that he was paid for a one day shoot so that they could put his name on the poster.
Chazz Palminteri is given so little to do that he appears to be sleepwalking through the hackneyed borderline racist character of Tony the loan shark. He has every tick of your typical movie mobster from yelling abruptly, killing, talking about respect, and looking good in sunglasses. But not even an accomplished and talented performer like Palminteri can bring any depth to the aforementioned cardboard cutout of a character.
“None of the characters are sympathetic or interesting.”
The real stars of Clover are the cinematographer and the editor, Matthew Quinn and Aaron Yanes, respectively. Quinn and Yanes provide a master class in turd polishing. Clover is, at times, an attractive film showcasing a stark urban beauty. Between the well-crafted shots and the seamless transitions, they are doing their best to make Abrahams’s movie at least look professional.
In the end, this was heartbreaking to watch because you can see the good film Clover could have been after a more polished draft of the script was placed in the hands of a better director. All of the jokes are uninspired and flat. All of the characters are unlikeable and uninteresting. All of the action is dull and pedestrian. Clover isn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen, but it does make me very sad because it could have and should have been more entertaining.
"…those clichés are a perfect excuse to play noir bingo."
