The King of Staten Island | Film Review

I remember seeing the trailer for this film ages ago, and being really excited to see it. And then it took ages to come out, and I forgot about it. But if it hadn't come out on the Sky Premiere channel, I would have eventually bought it from Amazon Prime Video, because I really wanted to see it.

This semi-autobiographical film tells the story of Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) growing up in Staten Island as he deals with a lack of direction, multiple medical problems, and the loss of his father at a young age.

I enjoyed this film a lot. I didn't quite know what to expect, or what the tone would be, so I was pleasantly surprised.

I loved all of the characters, but Scott was such an amazing character. He was complex and funny and charming and someone that you can root for, even though you understand why the people in his life become frustrated with him. I especially liked the interactions between Scott, his mother Margie (Marisa Tomei) and his sister Claire (Maude Apatow). You really believe these relationships - they feel authentic.

However, I found that while I liked the characters, the story in and of itself isn't that entertaining. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but not a lot actually happened. But saying that, one thing that I didn't expect was for the story to be endearing. It was so lovely in some parts that I just felt a warmth and love for the story and the characters.   

Pete Davidson was amazing in this role, whether he was playing a version of himself or not. I'd love to see him do more dramatic roles in the future. He gave this character a lot of great development and completely elevated what the film could have been 

The film doesn't try to tell a particularly story, but it is a look into this character's life and the way that he develops. And because of that, the film tried to do too many things. I think it would have benefitted from having one main focus, particularly later on. It also felt a lot longer than it needed to be. 

It had a really sweet. satisfying ending, and watching it felt really worthwhile.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the film. It's on the long side, but it'll definitely feel worth it when you get to the end and realise just how much you've fallen for this character.

6.5/10