Hoffa

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For other uses, see Hoffa (disambiguation).

Hoffa
original film poster
Directed by	Danny DeVito
Produced by	Caldecot Chubb Danny DeVito
Written by	David Mamet
Starring	Jack Nicholson Danny DeVito Armand Assante
Cinematography	Stephen H. Burum
Editing by	Robert C. Jones
Distributed by	Twentieth Century-Fox
Release date(s)	1992
Running time	140 min
IMDb profile

Hoffa is a 1992 biopic film based on the life and mysterious death of Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. Jack Nicholson plays Jimmy Hoffa, with Danny DeVito playing Robert "Bobby" Ciaro as well as directing the movie. The Ciaro character was actually an amalgamation of several Hoffa associates over the years. The film also stars John C. Reilly, Robert Prosky, Kevin Anderson, Armand Assante, and J. T. Walsh. The screenplay is by David Mamet.

The movie has an R rating, due to violence and strong language. For example, the word fuck was used 153 times in Hoffa [1].

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Most of the movie is experienced as a series of flashbacks, starting with Hoffa first meeting Ciaro, and ending just before Hoffa's disappearance.

At the beginning of the movie, Ciaro is seen standing in a parking lot of a diner. A well-dressed man and someone we virtually see as a seasoned professional. He gets into the back seat of a car, where Hoffa is seated. The pair are waiting for others to arrive in order to have a meeting. Ciaro asks Hoffa if he wants to go. We then see the first flashback.

Hoffa gets out of his car, and approaches a truck. Inside Ciaro is taking a nap. Hoffa insists that Ciaro give him a ride, while he talks to Ciaro about the benefits of joining the Teamsters. Hoffa gets out at a truck stop, after giving Ciaro his card, upon the back of which he had written "Give this man whatever he needs." A few days later, Ciaro reports to work to find Hoffa attempting to organize the workers. When his boss finds that Hoffa rode with him, Ciaro is fired. Ciaro accosts Hoffa, but is convinced by Hoffa associate Billy Flynn (Prosky) at gunpoint not to kill Hoffa. The pair take Ciaro out to firebomb an uncooperative employer. Flynn is badly burned and later dies at the hospital.

The movie shifts back to Hoffa and Ciaro waiting in the car. They talk for a few moments about the old days when the two first met. The movie then shifts back to a Teamsters strike. When the strikers get in a fight with police, Hoffa is taken by a pair of mobsters to meet with the local Mafia boss. Ciaro, who speaks Italian, accompanies him. At the meeting, the first alliance between the Teamsters and the mob is formed. At this meeting, Hoffa meets the young mobster Carol D'Alesandro (Assante), who would be his mob ally for a number of years.

The rest of the movie deals with the rise of Jimmy Hoffa to the Presidency of the Teamsters. The movie traces out Hoffa's legal troubles from use of Teamster funds and loans to mob figures. The movie shows the Congressional hearings that Hoffa appeared before, and shows Hoffa being questioned by Robert F. Kennedy. Tension between the two men is clearly evident in the movie, and over time relations decline, culminating in a shouting match between the two men.

The movie continues with Hoffa's conviction, and briefly covers his time in prison. Next the movie shows Hoffa after his release from prison, and his anger at learning that he cannot participate in union activities for ten years. D'Alesandro suggests to Ciaro that they meet at a local diner, which brings the movie to the point with Ciaro and Hoffa waiting in the car. The movie ends by giving one possible explanation of why Hoffa disappeared in the summer of 1975.

[edit] Critical response

Although not particularly well received among film critics, Hoffa earned two Oscar nominations (for Cinematography and Makeup) and a Golden Globe nomination (for Best Actor).