Chicago Overcoat

Plot

Lou Marazano was once a feared hit man, but his reputation has dimmed significantly twenty years after his retirement. Unable to help his daughter financially after her ex-husband fails to pay child support, he asks the street boss, Lorenzo Galante, for work. Though reluctant to give him the job, Galante sends him to kill several witnesses who will testify against D'Agostino, the mob boss. After Marazano sends flowers to the widow of one of the men he kills, Ray Berkowski, a veteran cop, reopens a case that involved a string of murders from the early 1990s. Though discouraged from investigating, Berkowski and his partner, Ralph Maloney, stake out the second target. Picked up at the scene of he crime, Marazano does not talk, and the police are forced to set him free when his girlfriend and her neighbors provide an alibi.

Worried that Marazano may talk in order to avoid jail time, Galante orders him killed. Marazano stays a step ahead of his former friends, and he is able to kill the crew sent to assassinate him. Knowing that he must also kill Galante, Marazano heads to Galante's bar, where Galante threatens Marazano's family. Unmoved by the threats, Marazano kills Galante and offers his gold watch to an elderly man. When the elderly man is taken in by the police as a potential witness, they spot the distinctive watch and realize that they have enough evidence to arrest Marazano. Meanwhile, Marazano collects the money from his job and receives his final target: the police captain. Meanwhile, Maloney takes over the investigation once Berkowski became frustrated with the department's red tape.

When their captain says that he has important information to share, Maloney and Berkowski, who has returned to active duty despite his cynicism, meet him in private at a parking lot. Unknown to the others, Mazarano tails the cops. Revealing that he is corrupt, the captain shoots both his subordinates. Before the captain can finish off either man, Marazano kills him. As Marazano turns to leave, Berkowski and Maloney attempt to stop him. In the ensuing gunfight, Berkowski accidentally kills Maloney. Enraged, he chases after Marazano, whom he blames for Maloney's death. When Berkowski confronts him, Marazano kills him. At his daughter's house, Marazano gives her all the money and urges her to leave the city, which he also plans to do.

Cast

Reception

Alissa Simon of Variety wrote that the film "musters mob-film cliches with verve". Reece Pendleton of the Chicago Reader wrote, "Despite the stock characters and well-trod material, this is an engaging tale, enhanced considerably by Vincent’s perfect mix of vulnerability and steely resolve." Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict called it "a nicely nuanced crime story".