“Blood is thicker than water” – it’s an adage that we’ve all encountered from time to time, and it is decidedly quite relevant to many of us since there is something about familial bonds, whether referring to biological or chosen connections, that make for quite profound commentary. However, when those bonds begin to sour, new challenges arise and navigating them can be quite an ordeal. This is what the characters in Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral find themselves experiencing, particularly two men who are lamenting the brutal murder of their youngest brother, someone who was forced into the fray of organized crime despite being far more interested in leading a very different life, but had the reputation of his brothers and their criminal activities permanently imprinted onto him, something he carried throughout his life and which ultimately was the likely cause of his death. A harrowing and haunting film about family and how it can sometimes be the most brutal of all entities when it comes to psychological manipulation, we find ourselves exploring some profoundly deep themes, which Ferrara presents with his trademark sense of provocative storytelling and deep attention to detail that makes this film a multilayered exercise in investigating the root of the human condition and how it can sometimes be the most difficult concept to fully comprehend, especially in times of great strife. Masterfully written by Nicholas St. John (who had collaborated with Ferrara on numerous occasions), the screenplay pays attention to every intricate aspect of the story and how it develops its characters, The Funeral is one of the most evocative and complex examinations of family produced during this time, and with a strong filmmaker at the helm, albeit one not afraid to take a few risks when it is appropriate, the film becomes much more compelling, rising about a very simple premise and becoming quite an effective psychological drama about loosening the ties that bind us together, whether for our sanity or survival, both of which can sometimes be called into question by even those that we believe we can trust the most.

There aren’t many films that are cited as containing the best ensemble of its decade, but when more than one trusted voice suggests that such a title belongs to The Funeral, it would be difficult to not grow increasingly curious to find it out for yourself. The cast of this film is phenomenal, not only based on their talents going into this film but how they work together as a group. There are major characters in the film, but no one stands out more than any other, at least not in terms of dominating the entire film. There are standouts within the cast, but everyone is radically different and the appeal of the film is seeing all these extraordinary actors working together in perfect synchronicity. Christopher Walken is perhaps the main attraction, at least in terms of marketing – one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, but also one that often seemed to play characters that were more off-centre and unconventional than some of his contemporaries, it is hardly surprising that he was to Ferrara was Robert De Niro was to Martin Scorsese or Al Pacino was to Francis Ford Coppola (not to be too focused on comparison) – eccentric but possessing a sinister streak that made him such an interesting actor, he delivered some of his finest performances under Ferrara’s direction, and I have yet to see him deliver better work than he did in The King of New York, one of the most daring performances ever committed to film. In The Funeral, he goes through so many emotions, and he is sharply contrasted by Chris Penn, who comes very close to taking over the film with his shocking and hauntingly dark performance as a hot-headed middle brother, and Vincent Gallo, who is just as good, albeit in quite a different way than we have seen him before. Even the characters played by Annabella Sciorra and Isabella Rossellini rise above being one-dimensional mob molls and become complex, nuanced characters that are fully realised through both the strength of a screenplay that seems to genuinely care about these characters, and the actors’ willingness to challenge conventions with these performances. The entire cast is exceptional, and it is truly one of the most well-defined ensembles of this particular decade and one that proves how effective a balanced set of performances can be when done correctly.

By the time The Funeral was conceived, we had reached what appeared to be a peak in the crime drama genre – there were countless gritty films about immoral people trying their best to survive in a world that was rapidly catching up with them and challenging them to either find a new way to make a living or risk their freedom, or even their lives in some extreme circumstances. Ferrara played a major role in developing this kind of gritty, complex film that centres on the sordid underbelly of contemporary society, and the even more immoral people that populate these corners of our culture. Ferrara was a smart filmmaker, and while he may have only had his peak slightly after they did, he has always been viewed as a contemporary of Coppola and Scorsese, or at least a very close artistic relative, one who makes similar films in theory, but which are often thornier and much darker, and thus usually tended to cover material that was sometimes quite challenging. There was very little need to make another version of Goodfellas or The Godfather since the gangster genre had essentially reached perfection and there wasn’t any desire to retread these themes. However, it is difficult to not see the spectre of previous works lingering over this film, in particular, the latter – there is a striking symmetry between Coppola’s masterpiece, which is first introduced to us with a wedding, and this film, which makes use of a funeral as its central narrative motif. Neither of these films is about the mechanics behind these important events but rather use common ceremonies as the framing device, a chance to take a common concept and develop it into something much more intriguing. The Funeral is also set in 1930, which allows Ferrara some freedom in developing the story to be a period piece, looking at organized crime in a previous era, where the same sense of desperation and moral ambiguity still existed, but contrasted with specific themes relating to The Great Depression and life between the two World Wars, all of which are integrated into the story, although sometimes in more subtle ways.

However, The Funeral is much more than just a one-dimensional crime drama, and while its insights into this particular story are undeniably fascinating, it differs in several ways, which is immediately one of the reasons we have to stop and pay attention to what we see throughout this film. Ferrara was obviously not trying to make another crime drama that follows a familiar structure, and both tonally and narratively he makes some bold decisions, each one developed to bring this story to life. There comes a point where we find The Funeral becoming an amalgamation of several different genres – it is primarily structured as a film noir based around the trials and tribulations of a family of gangsters, but it is quite selective in choosing specific details on which to focus, which allows it to become a family saga as well, a psychological drama about the impact these and their desire to assert their masculine bravado has on not only their direct family but their entire community, which begins to shatter as the kingdom these men built on a foundation of deceit and violence begins to crumble. There are moments of exceptional melodrama scattered throughout the film, as well as some elements of political thriller that help set the foundation for many of the film’s more abstract themes, most of which are not explicitly expressed but rather come about through implication and developing on the quieter and less obvious themes that form the foundation of the story. The Funeral is as much about organized crime as it is a socio-cultural statement about the human mind and the effect it can have on broader communities when greed and corruption rot society to the core, something that has informed the vast majority of Ferrara’s work and allowed him to become something of a counterculture revolutionary in terms of the kinds of stories that he tells and the insights gleaned from these narratives.

While it has its supporters (who are usually rabid in their praise for the film, perhaps as a way of compensating for the fact that it has been slightly forgotten), The Funeral is not spoken about as often as some of the more notable gangster dramas produced around this time. Perhaps it is the fact that it is a lot more harsh, and carries a darkness that is difficult to embrace, with the use of genuinely disturbing violence and complete lack of compassion towards its characters making it a profoundly uncomfortable experience. It could also be that it touches on themes much bleaker than what we are comfortable experiencing – even the most desensitized of viewers can handle some degree of moral ambiguity, but rarely are we able to comprehend the sheer scope of fear that envelopes this family. It is the antithesis of those gangster films that showcase the luxurious lives of these people – it is bleak in terms of both the story and how it is executed, with the bare-boned, unfurnished nature of the film being a major reason why it becomes such a disconcerting and uncomfortable experience. However, this is all part of the reason why the film is such a triumph since it is not afraid of being dark or challenging us to look beyond the obvious and find the deeper meaning simmering beneath the surface. It’s a challenging film, but one with many fascinating qualities, and Ferrara proves his status as something of a renegade by constructing this film as a disquieting examination of human psychology, as filtered through several different perspectives, each one adding details onto a story that is developed in such a way that we can never anticipate what is going to happen next, but know that whatever it is, it’ll only continue to promote this uncomfortable atmosphere. Not the peak of Ferrara’s filmmaking, but one that is a tremendous experiment (particularly as an ensemble film, something that Ferrara hadn’t explored much up until this point), The Funeral is a fascinating drama that looks beyond the obvious and becomes one of the most haunting explorations of organized crime of its era.