Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 5/10

Cast: Theo Rossi, Clive Standen, Samira Wiley, Chazz Palminteri, Don Johnson, William Forsythe, Sean Ringgold, Chuck Zito, Vincent Pastore, Eric Lutes, Burt Young, Antonio Cupo, Dorothy Lyman, John Fiore, Ken Baltin, Gillian Williams, Armen Garo, Claudio Orefice, Lala Kent, German Figueroa, Michael Zuccola, Danielle Guldin, Anthony Paulucci, Kevin DeCristofano, Tony V, Johnny Cicco, Andrew Divoff, Nick Principe, Bob Dio.

There is arguably a certain fascination with films that are connected to the Mafia which doesn’t appeal to everyone, not so much divisive, but more of a way of life that doesn’t have any relationship with anyone outside of Italy, certain parts of the United States of America and those interested in the effects of organised crime.

For the millions though that salivate over such films, there is always going to be a pecking order to which enjoy, in which to ruminate over the proliferation of alure to which such films are held in high esteem, and when it works, when the mood is captured with subtly, intrigue and fear, then the genre explodes with greatness, with anger and passion; this is of course feeds the relationship between violence and an audience’s understanding of the meaning of portrayal, even when it based on a true crime story in which it could be alleged that the Mafia as an organisation had no control over.

Vault sits squarely in between the ideal of Mob enforcement, caught in the headlights of films such as Casino, Once Upon A Time In America, Gomorrah and even the British classic The Long Good Friday with its terrifying look at gangster life under the watchful eyes of Bob Hoskins’ Harold Shand and the urgently poor, almost see through films such as Gangster Squad and Revolver. Vault is neither an exceptional insight into the underworld, nor does it sing against type, it doesn’t give special reasons to feel fear, just another heist which happens to be set against a true occurrence in Rhode Island.

What the film does bring to the overladen table is an element of understanding that the game you want to play is not always written with your rules in mind, that to pull of what may seem the perfect heist, one must appreciate that someone else further up the chain knows more than you do. The fall in this case, which the viewer may have seen coming, lays at the feet of Deuce and Chucky, their naivety shining through as they aim to be seen as players rattling the cages of the Italian American influence.

It is in the exchanged between Theo Rossi’s Deuce and Samira Wiley’s Karyn, their combined paranoia, the bystander who becomes the lover and the thief, to which the film shines with greater authenticity than might have been otherwise portrayed. Whilst other films show a love pushed together through circumstance, rarely do they demonstrate the moment of being unhinged, the ceremony of fear which drives them apart, and both Theo Rossi and Samira Wiley give absolute commitment to the ordeal faced.

A film of bleak neatness, illustrating a time when the Mafia were blatant about control, Noir in its surroundings, and displaying certain expressive behaviours which catch the eye, Vault should be considered a good film of its genre, but one that doesn’t hit the impossible highs laid down by others.

Ian D. Hall