Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

malmborgimplano-92-599820 Capaldi has said that this film didn't come out so well because he wanted it to be one thing and the producers wanted it to be another. Of course I can't know what went on there but I'm going to guess.I'm guessing this was meant originally to be a direct follow-up to the BAFTA-winning 1993 "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder," which was written by and starred Capaldi but rather limply directed by someone else (should have been Capaldi IMO.) STHS is about an aspiring artist from Glasgow who's struggling to make it in London but dreads the thought of going home, and "Strictly Sinatra" shows why he felt that way. The protagonist of SS is a below professional grade Frank Sinatra impersonator whose fantasies of actually being Sinatra lead him to seek help from some neighborhood wise guys who are themselves living in a dream world of retro Italian-American gangster glamor. (Capaldi's Glasgow, it seems, wasn't that different from New Jersey.) The protagonist, Tony Cocozza (note how it and Gavin Bellini, the protagonist's name from STHS, scan the same as Peter Capaldi) has remarkably long wild curly hair for a Sinatra impersonator (shades of Capaldi again), and his love interest Irene is remarkably like Yvonne, Elaine Collins' character from STHS, so we can guess who those roles were originally written for.The lighter, quirkier STHS style sequences work much better than the serious American-style gangster action ones so I'm guessing the first approach was Capaldi's original intention and the second was the one he compromised with. The film does look great. The sequence in which Tony's first triumphant ride in a Mafia staff car turns into a weirdly frightening siege is very stylish indeed.

writers_reign You could hardly accuse scribe/helmer Peter Capaldi of being subtle. The real Francis Albert Sinatra had widely documented alleged 'connections' with organised crime, specifically the Mafia and Capaldi's Tony Cocozza, a club singer whose repertoire is, as he tells his pianist, strictly Sinatra, makes initial contact with heavy hitting Glasgow gangsters within two reels. If you can get past that without yawning this isn't a bad time-passer and if Brian Cox is well OTT Alun Armstrong turns in a fine low-key cast-against type performance as Cocozza's pianist and closest thing to friend whilst Kelly MacDonald is 1) great to look at and 2) unbelievably and unrealistically nice-cum-naïve. The tune-stack is well up to snuff though Ian Hart is to Sinatra what Dick Van Dyke is to cockney.

treeline1 Toni Cocozza (Ian Hart) is a small-time lounge singer in Glasgow, who performs all Sinatra songs. He's obsessed with Ol' Blue Eyes and dreams of Vegas and stardom. One night, an elderly mob boss and his wife see the show and become Toni's biggest fans. He slowly enters their world and before he knows it, he's become one of the man's henchmen.This is a cute drama with an appealing leading man. Ian Hart is sweet and vulnerable playing a dreamer with limited talent. I was rooting for him all the way. He gets into some nail-biting situations with the gang, led by Brian Cox and Tommy Flannagan who are both quite menacing. Kelly Macdonald is adorable as a cigarette girl who falls for Toni.The movie is exciting and really held my interest. The Glasgow slang and accents may require the use of subtitles, but they are charming. Recommended.

c.g.brannigan I attended the Premier of Strictly Sinatra on Sunday Night. I was extreemly impressed by this movie. It had a great cast including the fantastic Ian Hart as Tony Cocozza. Brian Cox also put in a fantastic performance.The Movie is set in Glasgow and revolves around the life of Tony Cocozza and his dream to rise to Sinatra like stardom. Tony sings in pubs doing his act which is 'Strictly Sinatra' until one night one of Glasgow's gangland bosses request a song which is not in Tony's regular act. After performing an Elvis classic the young man is invited to join the man and his associates to a night in a casino. IT's here he meets a pretty cigarette seller, played by Kelly McDonald. Tony soon gets caught up in the local mob, after accidently asking for a favour, one which he'd have to return. His friends find out and he has to make a descision....fame, at it's price, or the girl of his dreams.Ian Hart stands out in the brilliant cast with his fantastic vocals for the movie. If it had been made in America he'd be nominated for an oscar, sadly this Scottish movie will probably be ignored.