As the history of modern (1970-95) Italy plays out - the kidnapping of Aldo Mora, the Bologna bombing etc. - a ruthless gang of outsiders are successfully muscling in on Rome's lucrative drug and gambling rackets. Meanwhile, a hard-nosed detective is tracking their activities, seeking evidence to put them away. And lurking even deeper in the background are State black ops figures who may or may not be manipulating both the criminals and the events themselves.I was expecting the sort of cheap crime exploitation movie that proliferated in Italian cinema back in the 70s, but this is a different, much more ambitious and better type of movie. Crime Novel is structured very much like an Italian version of American Gangster. It has the same intimate yet gritty feel, the same long slow story arc, playing out over years against a background of world events; the dedicated cop who seems like the only police official who sees his duty as catching criminals rather than taking bribes; and drug dealers who see themselves as businessmen providing a service rather than villains, and most of time they are. The focus is clearly on the gang. They grew up together in the streets. Crime and friendship are what holds them together. They have strong loyalties to those closest to them but can be ruthless to those who oppose them. Individually, they have frailties, but together they are formidable. The script is structured to provide each of the central characters with plenty of screen time, and its strong dialogue and intimate tone create very multi-dimensional and mostly sympathetic portraits.The resulting movie is very watchable and a worthy companion piece to movies like Carlito's Way, Scarface and American Gangster. Recommended.

By chance I stumbled on a DVD copy of this film and have just finished watching it - all 150 minutes of it. The 2.5 hrs went by fast as I was absorbed by the story and the characters in it. Acting by the several actors was good, although I know none of them. Directing was smooth. The only things missing was my understanding of the political backdrop in Italy in the 70's. This knowledge would have enabled to understanding the plot better.On the other hand, my ignorance of the director, the actors, and the backdrop time period gives me total objectivity - I watched it strictly for a cinematic experience. And I was not disappointed.

I'm disappointed as well as surprised on the user's comments on this great movie. I saw this movie many times and maybe my being Italian has let me understood better then others what the movie is all about. It's about the old life in Italy , it's about the real criminals that took over for years the control on one of the eldest city in the world,Rome. All the actors played their characters based on the real story of Rome's most terrible criminals.It's not a Hollywood production , it's not a tale , it's real not based , real happened.The movie is very good , and maybe knowing a little bit of history (in this case Italian) helps to get all meaningsThis is my own point of view.....ciao

I read the book some years ago, and was really excited that a movie was going to be made out of it. The plot was just perfect and the characters strong enough to work well on screen. Well the movie is quite disappointing, and not because of the script, which in a way does work (except maybe for a foreign audience who will not catch all the political implications of the movie), but for Michele Placido's poor television style of directing and (mainly) for the choice of (most) the actors. These guys should be the worst criminals Rome had ever seen, people you would not have the guts to see in the eyes, but the actors chosen are all the cool and beautiful teenager idols of Italian cinema, surely good actors, but not in the right place this time. This movie could have been a great opportunity to finally export some good Italian cinema...i'm afraid we'll have to wait much more!