In Character: Dennis Farina

Dennis Farina was a guy we all knew. With his consistent tan, permanent mustache, trademark Chicagoan voice, and perfect comedic timing, I’d be hard pressed to find a single fan of contemporary cinema that didn’t recognize his talents.

While I love bringing attention to excellent character actors in this column, I hate when such sad circumstances are the motivating factor for me writing about a particular actor. Yesterday morning, Dennis Farina died after suffering a blood clot in his lung. He was 69 years old, but his impact will certainly last longer.

As a Chicago cop for nearly 20 years, Farina first saw mainstream acting fame while working as a police consultant on Michael Mann’s first film, Thief. Mann asked Farina if he wanted a small role in the film, and the rest, as they say, is history. Known for playing cops, robbers, thugs and mafiosos, Farina had the rare ability to make any film or television show better. That was the power of his presence. No matter the material, he always managed to excel.

Five Essential Roles

Manhunter (1986)

Jack Crawford

Some truly great men have played FBI agent Jack Crawford over the years, but Farina is by far my favorite incarnation of the character. Other Crawford’s may have been too foreboding (Scott Glenn) or too ordinary (Harvey Keitel), but Farina is just right. He’s stern, but helpful. Articulate, but approachable. Let me put it another way: Dennis Farina played a number of police officers over the years, but Jack Crawford feels the most real. He walks and talks like a veteran cop, and an honest one at that. A guy who is willing to do what it takes to nab a killer, even if it includes cutting a few corners.

Midnight Run (1988)

Jimmy Serrano

This is a stretch, but I might go as far as to say that Jimmy Serrano is the most important character of Farina’s career. As a Chicago mob boss trying to hunt down an accountant who stole millions from him, Farina doesn’t waste a second of screentime in this film. With his constant hysterical banter, violent verbal tirades and imposing physical presence, Serrano is the prototype of men who would define Farina’s impressive career. Farina always played these guys to a T, and going back to the source is time well spent. In short, Jimmy Serrano was the first of many sarcastic assholes Farina would play, and we’re all better off for it.

Get Shorty (1995)

Ray “Bones” Barboni

If Jimmy Serrano had spent the years post-Midnight Run getting shit on, then Ray Bones is how he’d end up. Ray is a mob shmuck whose overly bronzed face and continually broken nose makes him an easy target. But beneath the tacky suits and cheap ties, Ray is a ruthless criminal who savagely resorts to violence to get what he wants. But here’s the thing, whether he’s getting punched in the face by John Travolta, or pressing his shoe on Gene Hackman’s head, there’s nothing Farina does here that isn’t fucking priceless. Just try and pick a favorite Ray Bones quote. Damn near impossible. Everything this guy says and does is done with conviction, to perfection.

Snatch (2000)

Avi

In my opinion, the pinnacle of the Dennis Farina mob dimwit is Cousin Avi from Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. Every second of exasperated expression and every word of spoken sarcasm is delivered to comedic excellence. There isn’t a single thing Farina does in this movie that doesn’t provoke a smile. Whether we’re laughing at him or with him (though the former is slightly more enjoyable), Farina sells Avi as well as he sold any character he ever played.

When I watch Farina’s performance here, I’m reminded of the work Samuel L. Jackson and Quentin Tarantino do together. Tarantino and Jackson have both claimed that Jackson was born to speak Tarantino’s dialogue, and I feel the same of Farina and Ritchie. Perhaps if Ritchie had cast Farina in all of his subsequent films, the director’s career would be slightly more pronounced. But as it will remain, Avi was their only collaboration together, and crime comedy cinema should be forever grateful.

Sidewalks of New York (2001)

Carpo

After his live-in girlfriend unexpectedly dumbs him, Tommy (Edward Burns), moves in with his colleague, Carpo, an old school player who never misses an opportunity to give young Tommy hilariously awful sex advice. The highlight of Farina’s work as Carpo occurs as Tommy gets ready for a first date in Carpo’s bathroom. As Carpo rests in his giant tub enjoying a bubble bath, he instructs Tommy to spray a little cologne on his nether regions.

“Just give those bad boys a spritz and she’ll love it. Go ahead, do what I tell ya.”

There certainly aren’t too many men who could pull off a line of dialogue like that.

The Best of the Best

The Last Rites of Joe May (2011)

Joe May

If you asked me yesterday what my favorite Dennis Farina performance was, I would’ve told you Avi from Snatch. But when news of Farina’s passing broke, I set out to find essential Farina roles I had previously missed. I quickly came across Joe Maggio’s indie The Last Rites of Joe May on Netflix, and I spent the subsequent two hours admiring in melancholic nostalgia.

The Last Rites of Joe May marked a number of firsts for Dennis Farina, at least as far as my exposure to his career goes. It’s the first time I’ve seen him earn first billing on a film, and the first time I’ve seen him truly embrace his age. Joe May has a sense of humor and a temper (as most Farina characters do), but they run second to pity, helplessness and self-doubt.

When we meet Joe, he’s being released from the hospital after several weeks following a wicked bout of pneumonia. Problem is, while Joe was sick, everyone he knew assumed he was dead. His landlord rented his apartment, his car was impounded, his bartender closed his tab. Now, imagine this for a second. Imagine if you were in the hospital for seven weeks, and everyone you knew assumed you were dead. No one visited. No one called or wrote. They just assumed, “Ah, he’s gone.” Waking up and realizing no one gives a shit about you would certainly put life into perspective, and that’s the angle Farnia plays so well here.

As I watched The Last Rites of Joe May, I realized that this was the role Dennis Farina’s career was leading up to. This is the role he was born to play. This is the role he deserves to be chiefly remembered for. A shuffling, lost, old man seeking redemption in the coldest of places. A man trying to prove he’s still got a little fight left in him. A man trying to leave a lasting legacy. Tried, and achieved.

Other Notable Roles

In Saving Private Ryan

While I feel I am proficient in the film roles of Dennis Farina, I fear I am woefully ignorant of his work in television. I am a catch-them-as-they-come viewer of Law & Order, but certainly haven’t seen every episode featuring Farina. Similarly, I have never seen the Michael Mann-produced Crime Story, or HBO’s short-lived Luck. In this regard, it looks like I have some great viewing ahead of me.

Thief (1981)

Miami Vice (1984-1889)

Crime Story (1986-1988)

Striking Distance (1993)

Eddie (1996)

Out of Sight (1998)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The Mod Squad (1999)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Big Trouble (2002)

Law & Order (2004-2006)

Empire Falls (2005)

You Kill Me (2007)

Purple Violets (2007)

Bottle Shock (2008)

Luck (2011-2012)