A Life Not to Follow (2015) User Reviews

Well done indie film!

[quickcuts11 · 7/10 · 10 August 2015]

I got a chance to see this film recently and I have to say I was really impressed with the overall quality of the film, especially since it's independently made. I've seen many indie films in my day and while some are decent they usually have that low budget look to them. But A life not to follow wasn't like that at all. In fact I was actually quite surprised at how well made it was. The look of the film was really high quality as well as most of the acting.

My favorite part of the the film was the way the director decided to tell the story in a non linear kind of way. Splitting up the story into 3 parts was a pretty bold decision but I think it really paid off!

Overall I think that if you have a chance to see this film you should. Even though there are no big name actors in it the story, style, and tone of the film itself is worth checking out. I think this film deserves a 10 on an indie scale, but since this is IMDb I think 7 is a really good score!

An amazing dark, gritty Neo-noir film.

[JeffT84 · 9/10 · 2 August 2015]

I had a chance to see A Life Not To Follow at the Gwinnett Center International Film Festival yesterday. I'm a big fan of noir films so I thought I would check it out.

This ended up being a great call on my end. I'm still thinking about this little gem. It's dark, gritty and highly entertaining. The film is told in three different chapters which I thought gave it a very original feel. The story is so engrossing it just flew by for me. It moves really well.

The main actors just did an unbelievable job in this film especially the characters of Luca, Eric and Tobias. I also really love the boss Jimmy and Eric's girlfriend Finola. It was really a solid cast.

I thought the direction was great and so was the writing. As I mentioned above the way this story was told and executed was just great. Also I found the dialogue to be well written. It's kind of hard for me to talk about the film because things keep revealing themselves as they go on. I don't want to give any spoilers.

A Life Not To Follow has really captured the spirit of noir. If you're into crime films, noir films or just want to see something done a little bit different and executed really well I highly recommend you see this film. Hopefully It will be out on Netflix and Blu-ray soon.

A Brilliant Film Noir!

[daredevil-51573 · 10/10 · 7 August 2015]

This film is a breathtaking piece of cinema. The film takes you to the darkest corners of the criminal underworld and explores the lives of many seedy and cutthroat characters, while also along the way introducing you to many heroes and anti heroes. The direction of this film is fantastic and artistic breaking the rules of traditional Hollywood mainstream films while also creating some new ones. The direction by Chris Di Nunzio is absolutely superb, He knows exactly what to show you and what not to show you when it comes to the scenes through out the film. The style is moody and dark much like the majority of the characters throughout this film. The acting is 100% genuine and real, you can feel the emotions of each character and how they got to where they are in this crumbling society of Drug Dealers, Gangsters, and Bent cops. David Graziano who plays Tobias Kane is on top of his game. A throw back to the days of Bogart and Mitchum. The film will shock and aspire you at the same time, I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves movies and wants to see a director who really understands cinema or anyone who is just sick of traditional Hollywood like I am.

Very Cool Modern Crime Noir with Boston Flavor!

[jeremymueller · 9/10 · 20 October 2015]

I was fortunate to catch A Life Not to Follow recently at the Action on Film Festival. I'm a fan of crime and genre type films, but sometimes feel like everything has been done before, and more recent crime films sometimes lack originality. A Life Not to Follow really surprised me! It has a lot of the traditional elements for this kind of film, but the characters and the narrative structure are unique. At times it felt like more of a throwback to classic crime Noir of the 40's, but set in the modern take no prisoners violent world of Boston cops and criminals. Great performances from Michael Capozzi, David Grazino, and a haunting Molly Kay whose tragic demise set the characters on their journey to redemption and damnation. Director Christopher Di Nunzio has created a film that's hard to stop talking about, and it stays with you long after it's over.

If you have the chance catch this film at a festival or once it's released. Definitely a film not to miss!

Who is Eliza Cushing?

[leekelly18 · 10/10 · 4 August 2015]

After watching A Life Not to Follow I have to say I was impressed. It's dark, moody and has a unique structure but what really stuck with me the most was the character of Eliza Cushing. There's a lot of good characters in this movie but it's Eliza and what she seems to represent to me that I just thought was great. It's this kind of loss of innocence. Maybe it's because I know a few girls that were good people they just became involved with bad crowds. Seeing someone who has potential and throwing it all away is a very sad but real thing. This isn't a spoiler just my commentary on the character and what it made me think of.

The movie has a certain quality of realism that I quite enjoyed. I also really love the look. It was cold and washed out. The people who made this movie did a fantastic job. It's called A Life Not to Follow but it's a movie and now a director that I will continue to follow.