Review of Blast of Silence

Out of the black of silence comes...

Born out of pain and instilled with hate and anger, Baby Face Frankie Bono is a hit man who knows all that matters is to get the job done. This is the premise of Allen Baron’s overlooked Noir masterpiece from the early 60’s. One of the last of its kind, Blast of Silence embodies everything a Noir stands for -- gritty setting, deeply flawed characters, overbearing narration, and stark black and white cinematography that casts shadows upon all of its characters.

Frankie Bono, played by Allen Baron himself, is a professional hit man who takes up a contract on Mafia boss Troiano and has to travel to New York City during Christmas time in order to carry it out. The plot is minimal at best but it’s Frankie Bono and his character that take center stage. Allen Baron’s Frankie is an isolated man filled with hate and anger that can come seething out at any moment. Every shot of the film shows him isolated and alone. Even with other people standing next to and near Frankie, he seems distant and uncaring for what they might have to say. His only concern is to get away, away from the danger that other people pose to him. He prefers his silence and emptiness than over the loud and crowded feeling he gets from people… and more importantly, parties.

He breaks his own rule of no parties, which only leads him into more trouble. It causes him to get close to an old crush from his youth, Lorrie. Thinking that he could step away from this life he knows so well, Frankie tries to create a relationship with Lorrie, but it’s never that simple for someone like Frankie. He learns that it was sympathy that brought Lorrie close to Frankie in the first place. He looks lonely, so Lorrie thought that showing him some attention would be good for him. In a great, tense scene played by Allen, Frankie goes over to Lorrie’s house in order to start a relationship but only finds out it was all fake. You can see the anger explode from inside him, in anticipation of the eventual violence that will erupt. But Frankie walks out calmly and instead realizes his anger is best left for Troiano. He finishes his contract with the understanding that this is his last job and then goes to collect his money. However all that’s left for Frankie is the inevitable pain and violence of the end, two things he’s all too familiar with as he’s left for dead by his employers on the pier, muddied and alone.

Blast of Silence is Allen’s debut film as writer, director, and star. Allen shows a deft hand controlling the movie, knowing exactly what each scene means and how to compose each shot. As he later states in an interview, he mostly just felt his way through each shot, going with his gut on shot compositions and how scenes play out. The film is really low budget but this just lends to the atmosphere. It’s dark and there’s this aura of loneliness that pervades itself in each scene. Frank is like a lonely businessman out of place in every situation even when he’s alone. Like every great Noir, the cinematography in Blast of Silence is excellent. Concealing Bono in shadows only helps to further the feeling of uneasiness throughout the whole picture.

Nonetheless, the biggest contributor to the film’s atmosphere and character study may be the dark and gloomy 2nd person narration voiced by the great Lionel Stander. Stander’s ominous tone delivers an unflinching look into Frankie’s persona (revealing the inner-self a man might only share with god). The narrator knows everything about Frankie and how he feels an alienated, angry man roaming the streets of New York even before Travis Bickle:

“Remembering, out of the black silence…you were born in pain…you were born with hate and anger built in…” and

“Later you learned to hold back the scream, and let out the hate and anger another way…”

The narration paints Frankie Bono as a man who can blow at any second, a man living inside himself most of the time, who may blast out any moment breaking the silence of his isolation.

Blast of Silence was overlooked and forgotten for many years until 1990 when it was rediscovered at the Munich film festival. Now, 18 years later, the Criterion Collection has uncovered this masterpiece giving it a great update with a new video and audio transfer, and adding to the DVD package, a new documentary called Requiem for a Killer. The documentary follows Allen Baron back to the streets of New York where he shot the film and provides a fascinating look into the making of this low-budget, undiscovered classic.

Posted on 04/17/08 by: matt2648 06:11 PM