If Chronicle captured the shaky-cam aesthetic of the late 2000s (thank you, Cloverfield), then Capone harkens back to the lush, deliberately paced crime dramas of the 1970s. Louisiana stands in for Florida in 1947, and cinematographer Peter Deming shoots the locations like a sun-dappled paradise, while costume designer Amy Westcott contributes to the glory and decadence that signifies Capone’s surface. That’s because under the top layer, the gangster’s soul and mind are eroding, and Trank shows real flair when he explores the nightmares that continuously plague Capone. In one thrilling sequence, Capone stumbles through a series of violent memories that create the mood of Shining-era Kubrick, an eerie and unexpected nod in this consistently surprising biopic.
