In a diabolically good crescendo, the suspense tickles our toes. 
The story of Machiavelli Hangman is extremely well built and we 
predict a few nominations come Oscar season for this Hangman.

The characters in the film are so completely different than one 
another but each processes a screen presence that lingers in your 
memory long after you’ve watched the film. If this film has the 
feel and look of those classic Hollywood movies, it’s not a 
coincidence. The writer and director of the film Shervin 
Youssefian worked a many years for a conservatory of old 
black and white films and it is not surprising the level of 
maturity he brings to his feature debut.

What makes Machiavelli Hangman so powerful is the fact that it is 
so different than anything else that comes out on the screens 
nowadays. It breaks every rule of continuity and explores and 
takes advantage of a century of conventional interpretations that 
movies have gotten us used to. Today, if a standard audience is 
shown a scene with a man looking at the bicycle and in the next 
scene riding it? Automatically, we fill in the gaps and assume 
that he stole the bicycle and rode away with it. What Machiavelli 
Hangman does is that it twists that convention to turn our eyes 
inwards at our own subconscious interpretational nature.

Throughout most of the film, I was thinking of how the filmmaker 
had managed to make me so self-aware. I was wondering how on 
earth I had been so convinced of what a certain scene stood for 
without having seen enough hints. This may not make much sense to 
you until you see the film. It is not only a great comedy that 
explores the gangster underworld, but it is also a great test of 
psychology for anyone who feels a little out of touch with 
himself.

This is film that not only gives complete freedom to his actors 
to go wild, but it actually expects it of them. Even the 
supporting characters like Lillian or George’s girlfriend Marina 
steal the scene even though they only appear for less than five 
minutes throughout the whole film.

While many may compare it to such films as Pulp Fiction, Memento 
and Reservoir Dogs, Machiavelli Hangman is far more 
psychologically driven and more comedic. This is what makes it 
such a fascinating film, the odd combination of humor and comedy.
Although it does take its comedy quite seriously, it never falls 
into the trap of lecturing the audience. This is the work of an 
artist who knows what he wants and what he wants to say, and will
say it regardless of whether you understand or not. Thankfully, 
in this case, we completely find ourselves on the same page. 

Roger Turtlebaum is a movie reviewer.
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com