New York is synonymous with Italian Mob movies, but Irish Mob films are a rarer breed. Especially those that are actually set in the stomping grounds of the real life "Westies" gang, that of Hell's Kitchen. The only one that immediately springs to mind is the Sean Penn classic, State of Grace which admittedly, is a much better movie than One Eyed King. However, not many films can stand up to the dynamic casting of Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris and Robin Wright (prior to becoming Mrs. Sean Penn). This isn't to say that Armand Assante, Chazz Palminteri, William "Billy" Baldwin, Bruno Kirby and Jim Breuer are anything to sneeze at, but these terrific actors get bogged down by Moresco's penchant for an omnipresent narrator who doesn't trust the audience to follow the story and reveals things long before they should be.

A rain soaked, slow motion flashback tells us that this is going to be a story about friendship, namely 5 friends who grew up in the "Kitchen," and swear an oath of loyalty to one another over some stolen claddaghs. Just as quickly, a flash forward tells us that boys soon grow to be men, and even those that swear allegiance to one another will be forced to pull a gun on their friends eventually. Frankie (Baldwin) knows this as he's lived in Hell's Kitchen all his life, but he thinks he got it all figured out. He keeps close ties with Holly (Assante), the local "Union Head" aka Mob Boss, but never gets in over his head. Unfortunately, his childhood pals Dennis (Jason Gedrick) and Bug (Dash Mihok) aren't so smart. Investing in a counterfeiting scheme that makes money even "Monopoly" would be ashamed of, they are soon in the hole thousands of dollars, as well as committing the worst affront, causing Holly to lose face in the neighborhood.

Holly offers Bug a way out, either he can kill Dennis, a junkie and perpetual thorn in Holly's side, or they will both get whacked by one of Holly's goons. Bug takes the easy way out, but sets I motion a chain of events that will forever destroy the friendship of the 5 and eventually change life in Hell's Kitchen for everyone. Upon discovering Dennis' OD'ed corpse on a neighborhood rooftop, Frankie swears he will find the murderer if it's the last thing he does. Along the way he has to try to mend his failed relationship with Dennis' sister, Helen (Connie Britton), help to arrange the marriage of his pregnant sister to his good friend Paddy (Breuer) and convince one-time wiseguy and current police detective, Eddie (Palminteri), that he really doesn't want to join the force, regardless of what his father's been saying.

It's these side stories that really help to flesh out One Eyed King, as the main plot is a bit predictable, especially given the constant flash forwards to the ending, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with half a brain. Moresco also chooses to go with an omniscient narrator, Terry (Ricky Aiello), one of Holly's goons who is telling us the story AFTER the fact. It's revealed during the credits that he served time for his involvement in the events of the film and used that "free" time to write a book called, what else, One Eyed King. While this revelation serves as a wink and a nod to Goodfellas, it doesn't move beyond "cute" in the context of the film and really serves little to no purpose other than to hold our hand during the film.

The DVD:

Picture: One Eyed King is presented in a 16:9 widescreen presentation that looks good. The film was shot using DV cameras, but it doesn't have that "look" that is most associated with Digital, instead appearing akin to a super 16mm film feature. The image is fairly crisp and clear, but the color palette appears somewhat muted, which is most likely a conscious choice on the part of the director.

Audio: The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track sounds good, and the music cuts on the soundtrack are well thought out and add to the overall experience.

Extras: There are no Extra Features on this DVD, with the small exception of trailers for the Velocity films, Nightmare Boulevard, Dark Heaven and Diamond Hunters.

Conclusion: One Eyed King is a decent first film that any director could be proud of, but it also suffers the symptoms of a first film. Moresco isn't confident enough in the strength of his storytelling to do away with the contrived narration. The constant use of flash forwards is also unwarranted, as the very nature of these films is such that one feels the doomed ending coming a mile away. Still, the cast gels nicely and there are enough bright spots to recommend this as a solid Rental.