Jesse (I) (2011) User Reviews (7)

Stephanie Finochio is Good, But "Jesse" Isn't!!!

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 3 December 2016]

Clearly, writer & director Fred Carpenter has a genuine gift for getting movies made, but "Jesse" looks terribly amateurish. Virtually every shot in this low-budget police revenge thriller appears claustrophobic, as if Carpenter lensed the action as tightly as possible to crop out non-actors from edging into the shots. Whoever pulled focus on "Jesse" should learn how to manipulate the focus. Some shots are done with zero artistry. Unmistakably, "Jesse" served as a paycheck for veteran character actors like William Forsythe, Armand Assante, and Eric Roberts. Stunt-woman-turned-actress Stephanie Finochio is cast as the eponymous heroine, Jessica Weinstein, a hot-tempered, tough-as-nails, Nassau County, New York Police detective. She guzzles liquor with the abandon of an alcoholic and takes cement naps on the sidewalk when she cannot stagger to her Ford. Since she divorced her fireman husband who gained custody of her son, she lives at home with her pot-smoking mother and her brother. Finochio epitomizes diamond in the rough as an actress with a background as a wrestler with BBA in Accounting / BA in Psychology and an M.A. in Education. This actress deserves better than "Jesse."

You can imagine what happens when the profane Finochio learns two her scumbag brother, Mitchell (Mitchell Walters), has died under mysterious circumstances. It seems Mitch got involved with a mafia loan shark and couldn't repay the thousands that he owed the mafia. The actors look like they improvised most of the dialogue in the predictable Fred Carpenter and Joanne Tamburro screenplay. The villains curse like the gritty Goombahs in a Scorsese crime movie. Carpenter must have seen those outstanding epic because "Jesse" looks like a cross-between of Scorsese and a "Dirty Harry" police procedural. The chief Mafia villain, ambitious Ralph (Anthony Trentacosta of "Just Like Joe"), imitates Al Capone in one scene when he throws a birthday party for a treacherous business associate who has been stealing from him and then smashes its head with a baseball bat. This is probably the best scene that Trentacosta has. Meantime, Jesse becomes a television news sensation when she walks into a convenience store that is in the process of being robbed by two thugs. Naturally, in the best Dirty Harry style, our heroine drops both robbers and the hostages go free. As it turns out, Ralph finds himself in knee deep trouble with Vince the Godfather (William Forsythe of "Once Upon a Time in America") who reprimands him. What Vince doesn't know is that Ralph is going behind his back and making unauthorized deals, specifically running narcotics. Jesse's Captain (Paul Vario of "The Blue Lizard") warns Vince what Ralph is planning to hit him. Ralph sends a man to rough up Jesse's mother (Tamara Markowitz), and this enrages Jesse. Once Vince learns what Ralph is up to, he contacts Jesse and informs on him.

The biggest surprise occurs when we learn that Mitchell isn't dead. Mitchell went and staged his own death and cut his foot off as evidence that he had died. When Jesse catches up with him, she forgets that he is her older brother and takes care of him. Aside from a dinner party at a residence, Carpenter looks like he shot everything on location, grabbing shots as he went. "Jesse" is all talk with sloppily staged action scenes. The convenience store robbery had potential, but Carpenter blew it with lackluster helming. Incidentally, tough guy actor Eric Roberts has only two scenes as a bartender. "Jesse" had some potential.

Don't bother ............

[merklekranz · 3/10 · 29 December 2020]

Typical shot on home video nonsense. The production values scream cheap. The acting by everyone not named Forsythe, Roberts, or Assante, is pitiful. The story itself of a renegade cop has been worked to death in infinitely better movies. Making matters worse almost all scenes are short, and cobbled together, so the entire film seems like nothing more than a series of loosely related skits. Almost every shot is in extreme closeup, which is both annoying and dreadful. Eric Roberts plays a bartender who has nothing to do with anything, and appears in exactly one scene. Armand Assante is an internal affairs investigator, and appears in exactly one scene. William Forsythe fares only slightly better with screen time. "Jesse" should be the poster movie for using three name actors as bait on the DVD cover, and then filling out the players with high school caliber talent. Avoid. MERK

Record breaker

[solidabs · 1/10 · 1 March 2021]

This movie breaks the record. It has the most greatest actors to ever star in one of the worst movies ever. God this was horribly done.

Better than expected and worth a view

[carrychris · 7/10 · 25 September 2020]

Jesse Is a low budget film as you can see from the get go but not lame, Just give a minute and you will see. What brings this film slightly above others if it's genre is a bit more of a personalized plot of Jesse( excellently played by Stephenie Finochio, Aka wrestler Trinity)Maverick cop excessive drinker an attitude that works to her own detriment. We quickly learn about her life's issues that have her career and personal life teetering on the edge. The film does a good job of portraying mobsters in long Island accurate or not and their intersections and the cultural aspect. The film also poses the question of when as a cop to follow procedures and to what ends. The other well known actors mostly appear just for short parts in this film but their characters fit where their supposed too. and yes Jesse is hot and some good action sequences. decent viewing.

JESSE is Smokin' HOT!!!

[firstdreamhome · 9/10 · 15 July 2011]

This film is a must see!!! Jesse is truly a roller coaster ride and gives a whole new meaning to GIRL POWER, WOW! Stephanie Finachio went from lady wrestler, "TRINITY" to Hollywood stunt woman, to leading lady. She was born to play this part! If you like action and a strong female character, go see this film! Supported by an All Star cast, William Forsythe, Armand Assante, Eric Roberts, and Michael Wright, this little Indy film ROCKS! Fred Carpenter's Direction was spot on!! He made this look like a big budget film, truly hard to believe this only had a 150K budget. Hats off to the writing too, lot's of twists and turns in the story, I was taken by surprised a few times. Good Stuff!

Once in a while a real film comes along

[albrechtcm · 10/10 · 5 September 2014]

Once in a while. Just once in a while a film come along that makes you sit up and pay attention. We've all seen so many films depicting mobs, and cops of course, but this film is almost like a documentary. We're shown real mobsters rather than amalgams of all the previous mobsters we've seen. These guys are believable, each and every one. They are real. And the cops. Real. The captain is an honest cop, but he knows that in a big city sometimes you just have to let things follow their course, and that's often what he does. Some mobsters are just too big and too powerful for a mere police captain to take them on all by himself, and besides, most of the time they do their own internal policing. Saves the city a lot of time and paperwork. Stephanie Finochio is perfect in her role as a detective with lots of baggage and lots of problems. I really loved her brother. Unfortunately I'm not sure of his name, but for all that he was a sleaze, he was a likable sleaze. And her mother as well. In this tale of a detective stepping slightly around the law to avenge the death of her brother, the beating of her mother in the face of taunting threats from the mob, this detective quickly pulls herself together and learns how to kick ass, and she does it in a realistic way, not through CGI flying through the air like a model plane. Nobody was "acting". These people were real as were the settings. I understand this film was made on a real shoestring by Hollywood standards, which speaks very well for it. This never for a moment felt like a low-budget film, and when I think of the ninety- plus million dollar dogs Hollywood turns out, I'm appalled. If I had one complaint it would be that the cover features William Forsythe, Armand Assante and Eric Roberts when in fact all three had only minor roles. Mr. Forsythe's role was important, but he didn't actually appear that much in the film. Mr. Assante appeared only for a few brief minutes as did Eric Roberts. This is a distressing trend in Hollywood, tossing in a "name" or two and then featuring it on the cover. Just watched Swelter "starring" J-C Van Damme who literally did nothing but sit around here and there. He could have sent in his performance on a cell phone. Jesse is a film I'll probably watch again one of these days. Nice work!

Steph F is Hot!

[astron_2000 · 10/10 · 20 August 2014]

Jesse is a great action flick-Just got it at Walmart-smart sassy, lead actress Stephanie Finochio is hot--former wwe Diva, she is smokin! Also, William Forsyte, Armand Assante(I the Jury) Eric Roberts(Expendables) not bad either--kudos to Paul Vario (just Like Joe)The plot is a simple one--a cop out for revenge against a loved one's killer--it goes all the way back to Death Wish and beyond--but this is handled with style and class-- Fred Carpenter proves he's a master at action directing on a low budget-- he is the Roger Corman of NY!!

Get this film now at Amazon or Walmart!