Staten Island is a 2009 crime film

Crime film

Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...

 written and directed by James DeMonaco. It starred Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...

, Vincent D'Onofrio

Vincent D'Onofrio

Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...

, and Seymour Cassel

Seymour Cassel

Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...

 as three Staten Islanders whose lives intersected through a crime. Following a very limited theatrical run in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, it was released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 and Blu-ray in December 2009.

Synopsis

A Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

 mob boss Parmie (D'Onofrio) was robbed by a septic tank

Septic tank

A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations...

 cleaner Sully (Hawke) who had a pal Jasper (Cassel), a deaf deli employee moonlighting as a corpse chopper for Parmie.

Cast

• Ethan Hawke
  Ethan Hawke
  Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
  
   as Sully Halverson
• Vincent D'Onofrio
  Vincent D'Onofrio
  Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
  
   as Parmie
• Seymour Cassel
  Seymour Cassel
  Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
  
   as Jasper
• Julianne Nicholson
  Julianne Nicholson
  Julianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is known for having played Det. Megan Wheeler on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Early life:...
  
   as Maria

Critical reception

The film received mixed to average reviews from critics. The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

critic praised the director DeMonaco for "adroitly weaving violence, absurdity and sentiment, even an environmental consciousness, into a modest, appealing fable", while the reviewer of The New York Daily News blamed him for "wasting a strong cast in silly roles".