''Monument Ave.'', originally titled ''Snitch'' in the United States and titled ''Noose'' in Australia, is a 1998 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by Ted Demme and starring

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, he first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and th ...

and written by Mike Armstrong. The film also stars

Famke Janssen Famke Beumer Janssen (; born 5 November 1964) is a Dutch actress and former model. She played Xenia Onatopp in ''GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey (film series character), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film series (2000� ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001's '' How Harry Became a Tree'', and ...

, Ian Hart, and Lenny Clarke. Cam Neely also makes a brief appearance as a man returning home from work who finds his house has been broken into. The film takes place in

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

and centers on small-time criminal Bobby O'Grady (Leary), who becomes conflicted due to Charlestown's code of silence. His loyalty and drive for self-preservation are tested, after two of his close family members (also criminals) are gunned down by their boss.

Plot summary

Bobby mentors his young cousin, Seamus, into a life of drugs and crime soon after Seamus emigrates from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Bright, conscientious, but notably naive, Seamus finds himself unable to get used to the spontaneous dangers and recklessness of his new life in the United States. Seamus commits a

hate crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

on an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

youth who had crossed the racial boundary around Charlestown in the 1990s. Following this and another particularly traumatic incident, Seamus is afraid of further involving himself with Bobby and Bobby's circle of criminal friends. Seamus tells Bobby he wants to return to Dublin. The two argue after Seamus blames Bobby for dragging him into a dangerous and "damaging" lifestyle which he never wanted. Seamus is killed soon afterward by

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

Jackie O'Hara. O'Hara mistakenly believes that Seamus told police about O'Hara's criminal operations. O'Hara had ordered an earlier hit against Bobby and Seamus' cousin Teddy, because Teddy had made a deal with police. The deal concerned a reduced prison sentence.

Cast

as Bobby O'Grady *

as Jackie O'Hara *

as Katy O'Connor *

as Hanlon * Lenny Clarke as "Skunk" * Billy Crudup as Teddy * Ian Hart as "Mouse" * Lyndon Byers as "Fitzie" * Melissa Fitzgerald as Sheila * Jason Barry as Seamus *

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including '' Land of Plenty'', '' Stripes'', ''City Limits'', '' Nix ...

as "Digger" * Greg Dulli as Shang * Jeanne Tripplehorn as Annie

Reception

References

External links

* * * 1998 films 1998 crime drama films American crime drama films 1990s English-language films Films about organized crime in the United States Films set in Boston Films about Irish-American culture Films about immigration to the United States Films set in Massachusetts Films shot in Massachusetts Films directed by Ted Demme The Kushner-Locke Company films American neo-noir films 1990s American films English-language crime drama films {{1990s-US-drama-film-stub