New mobster drama The Birthday Cake arrives in cinemas and on Premium Digital on 16th July, and the cinemas really are the best place to catch this. I say this not because it’s an effects heavy movie that would benefit from the spectacle, nor because it needs that communal viewing experience, but because it needs to be watched as far away from distractions as possible. Told primarily over the course of one evening, The Birthday Cake follows Gio (Shiloh Fernandez), the son of a murdered mobster, and nephew to Brooklyn mob boss Angelo (Val Kilmer), as he travels across the city delivering the titular Birthday cake. During the course of the fateful evening, Gio finds his life forever changed as he begins to piece together the truth behind his father’s death.
There’s much more going on within The Birthday Cake than that synopsis suggests, Gio spends the entire movie moving from one location to another, along the way meeting a host of interesting characters. Watching The Birthday Cake play out is much like attending a promenade theatre performance. For those unaware, a promenade performance is when the audience moves around with the players, sometimes even venturing outside the theatre itself, to meet new characters and uncover new story developments. By keeping the camera on Gio, and forever pushing forward, director Jimmy Giannopoulos emulates that same viewing sensation, but allows the audience to remain rooted in their seats. With so much travelling from location to location and so many side characters introduced along the way, it does become difficult to keep track of exactly what is happening and which conversations are truly important.
With so much constant change, it is Fernandez’ performance that grounds the piece. As Gio he gives the audience a person to latch onto, and without him the viewer would be well and truly lost. Fernandez had a hand in writing the script; the actor is obviously fully invested in the project and his passion shines through in his acting. Gio is the conduit for the story, and Fernandez’ commitment helps keep everything on track.
The Birthday Cake marks the feature debut of director and co-writer Giannopoulos, and yet given the calibre, size, and range of the cast, you would never know it. Joining Shiloh Fernandez, are stars Val Kilmer, Ashley Benson, Penn Badgley, William Fichtner, Luis Guzmán, and Ewan McGregor to name just a handful of the higher profile cast members. With so many different types of actors, from solid legends, to stars of popular teen shows, The Birthday Cake will have an actor to appeal to almost everyone. The level of involvement of each individual depends on who they play, with most only having one scene, but the film moves at such a pace that once you’re invested, you won’t remember who you came for.
As intriguing a prospect as The Birthday Cake poses, Giannopoulos doesn’t quite manage a full home run. Outside of the appeal of the cast, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who the target audience for the film is. The story is also needlessly complex with its constant stream of conversations. Unpicking the riddle of which ones are relevant requires a lot of thought from the viewer, and with so much thrust upon them, many may find themselves disengaging partway through. Giannopoulos picks things up with an effective and violent ending, one that is reminiscent of early Sopranos and Tarantino, but whilst impressive, it feels a tad too late. There’s also an excessive amount of music narrating the unfolding events, making it hard to focus on discussions and even more bewildering to follow. A valiant effort, The Birthday Cake will be an ordeal for the casual viewer, but holds enough mystery to pique the interest of those with a taste for the unusual.
Signature Entertainment presents The Birthday Cake in Cinemas and on Premium Digital 16th July.
The Birthday Cake
Summary
A star-powered, talk heavy mob drama that is forever moving forward, will ultimately lose some viewers along the way.
