Big Earl Roman (Jon Cesar) runs a crime family in Buffalo, New York and is known as the King of the East Side. His son, Eric (Peter Johnson), has become a preacher at the family’s church through his Father’s meddling and settles into the position easily. This is one of the family’s many contradictions; they are devout churchgoers. In the crowd is Councilman Green (Barry Williams), newly elected to the City government with the help of the Roman’s campaign funding. The young politician turns to bite the hand which feeds him, raising Big Earl’s ire. With the law hounding them, internal strife rearing its head, and squabbles over territory, Earl Roman must take action to defend his family and his way of life.
This movie was a disappointment for me personally. I love a good crime story, especially organized crime, but there wasn’t much of anything beyond simple drama in this movie. The use of the historical demise of Julius Cesar is very interesting and the subterfuge and backstabbing held my attention, but nothing is well developed. I’m still unsure how big this gang is and what exactly they do besides running illegal bingo numbers with church seniors (which doesn’t seem the best nor most profitable basis for a city-wide criminal enterprise). Amateur acting, poor pacing, and inexplicable montages make this movie hard to follow as we’re supposed to assume a lot of things that aren’t explicitly stated or shown to the viewer. This, along with a muddled plot and thematics means confusing viewing for those looking for a traditional organized crime narrative.
These issues aside, those looking for a simple drama with criminal themes may be quite interested in this film. The Romans is a steady drama and does explore the interpersonal relationships of Earl and Eric quite well. Some small homages are made to Blaxploitation era film in the form of the musical introduction and narration. While intuition would lead collection developers to add The Romans to crime drama shelves in public libraries, it may actually be a better fit in the general drama section of your collection. Strong optional purchase.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
The Romans is best suited for drama shelves.