New Mafia Film ‘By the Gun’ Shoots into Theaters Dec. 5

“You want in this family, you gotta pay the price.” Taken from the film’s trailer, this line sets the tone for “By the Gun,” James Mottern’s American crime-drama. “By the Gun” follows Nick Tortano as he naively enters and navigates the world of the Boston mafia circle. In doing so, Nick discovers this world to have its own set of rules and conventions, vastly different from those of the common world.

Mottern, a multi-award winning documentarian, directs the film very stylistically. This poses as a massive shift in content for Mottern. Though known mostly for his work in documentary filmmaking, Mottern proves himself as a feature-film director, giving “By the Gun” an appealing nitty-gritty feeling with a sly comedic charm. Of course, one can credit this also to the great work of the film’s writer Emilio Maura. Relatively new to screenwriting, Maura highlights his quick wit through the film’s dialogue. As easy as it is for him to make a room laugh, he can shift the tone south and shock an audience silent.

“By the Gun” stars Ben Barnes, Leighton Meester, and Harvey Keitel, with Barnes playing the lead role of Nick Tortano. Meester plays Nick’s love interest while Keitel plays the dissolute mafia kingpin.  This sets up the dichotomy of the film and leaves Nick with an ultimatum.

Despite its bursts of comic relief, the film ultimately explores deeper themes of masculinity and redemption. As the trailer states, “Nick wanted to be a man.” This sets a rift in what defines masculinity and paves two separate paths. Nick must choose whether to continue to abide by the conventions of the mafia or manifest his manhood elsewhere.

Overall, “By the Gun” is more so a tale of finding a purpose than just another crime-drama. Its exploration and ideas on masculinity brings a new depth to the film similar to that of “The Godfather” trilogy. Beyond the guns and bullets, past its violence and gore, lies a deeper theme and question to be pondered: What are the consequences when we search for ourselves in the wrong places

‘By the Gun’ hits theaters Dec. 5.