Levinson adapted Lorenzo Carcaterra's supposedly true story of four friends from Hell's Kitchen who were brutalized and raped in a New York Detention Center for Boys in the 1960s. This allegation was completely refuted by the NYC authorities. I couldn't work out what drew Levinson to this material, but whether true or not it's an immersive story.
Joe Perrino, Brad Renfro, Jonathan Tucker and Geoffrey Wigdor are the kids who grow up to be Jason Patric (a journalist), Matt Damon (a lawyer), Billy Crudup and John Eldard (hardened criminals). When the latter encounter one of their persecutors, Kevin Bacon, they kill him. Damon finds out a clever way to get them off, and to track down and take revenge on the others.
Great cast also includes Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Bruno Kirby (the most unpleasant husband you can think of), Robert de Niro, Wendell Pierce, Aida Turturro and Vittorio Gassman (the original Profumo di Donna) as the local hood.
Very well made by Levinson, Michael and Florian Ballhaus, Stu Linder, Richard Beggs, and Kristi Zea (production design) with a great score from John Williams. Greenpoint in Brooklyn stands in for the now refurbished Hell's Kitchen.
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