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Hoffa is a 1992 biographical film directed by Danny DeVito and written by David Mamet, based on the life of Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. Jack Nicholson plays Hoffa, and Danny DeVito plays Hoffa's fictional longtime friend Robert "Bobby" Ciaro, an amalgamation of several Hoffa associates over the years.

The film also stars John C. Reilly, Robert Prosky, Kevin Anderson, Armand Assante, and J. T. Walsh. The original music score is by David Newman.

Plot[link]

Most of the story is told in flashbacks, starting with Hoffa first meeting Ciaro and ending with one version of Hoffa's mysterious disappearance. Hoffa and Ciaro are first seen impatiently waiting in the parking lot of a diner in 1975. Others are late for a meeting. Asked if he wants to leave, Hoffa gives Ciaro a scornful glance. The first flashback to 1935 then occurs:

A young Jimmy Hoffa approaches a parked truck, inside of which driver Ciaro is taking a nap. Hoffa talks to him about the benefits of joining the Teamsters. He gives Ciaro a business card, on which he has written: "Give this man whatever he needs." A few days later, Ciaro reports to work to find Hoffa attempting to organize the workers. Hoffa blurts out about their ride together and Ciaro is fired. He later accosts Hoffa with a Bowie Knife, but is persuaded to drop it at gunpoint by Hoffa's associate Billy Flynn. Ciaro joins the pair in the arson bombing of a laundry whose owner has refused to cooperate with the Teamsters. Flynn is badly burned and dies. Ciaro succeeds him as Hoffa's right-hand man.

Another flashback shows a Teamsters strike. While strikers fight with non-union workers and police, Hoffa is taken to a local Mafia boss. Ciaro, who speaks Italian, comes along. An alliance between the Teamsters and the mob is formed. Hoffa meets Carol ("Dally") D'Allesandro, who would become his closest mob ally. Hoffa rises to the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. His illegal activities include the use of Teamster funds to provide loans to the mob. At a Congressional hearing, Hoffa is questioned by Robert F. Kennedy regarding his suspicious union activities. (Dialogue was taken directly from official transcripts.) The tension between Kennedy and Hoffa grows, especially after John F. Kennedy is elected U.S. President and brother Bobby becomes Attorney General.

Hoffa is betrayed by a junior associate, Peter Connelly, in court. The evidence used against him are the plans he wrote on the back of a hunting license. He surrenders to federal officials and serves time in a Pennsylvania federal prison while Frank Fitzsimmons takes his place as Teamsters boss. Ciaro, also convicted and imprisoned, is freed before Hoffa and immediately begins working for his boss's release. D'Allesandro suggests that the Teamsters endorse Richard M. Nixon for President, the idea being that in exchange for Teamster endorsement, Hoffa will receive a presidential pardon.

Hoffa gets out and expects to again run the Teamsters, but learns that one of the conditions of his release is that he is ineligible to run the union for ten years. Hoffa meets with D'Allesandro and is shown screaming at the gangster that Hoffa wants Fitzsimmons dead; the tirade is laced with various obscenities and descriptive suggestions as to what to do with a few of Fitzsimmons' body parts. D'Allesandro tells Hoffa that he's 'too hot' and that 'I can't get close to it'. Hoffa leaves with the matter unresolved. Some time later, Hoffa tells D'Allesandro (via Ciaro) that unless the matter of Fitzsimmons can be settled (the implication being that Hoffa wants Fitzsimmons either removed from office or killed), Hoffa will go to the press and detail his dealings with D'Allesandro. D'Allesandro then tells Ciaro to tell Hoffa that 'everything's gonna be all right' and also that Ciaro should tell Hoffa 'I know he doesn't mean it' and that they should all meet the next day at 'The Roadhouse', a local diner.

Hoffa and Ciaro spend several hours waiting for D'Allesandro in the parking lot of the diner but he never arrives. A purported union driver (Frank Whaley) who had been waiting in the diner, allegedly for a part for his truck, reveals himself to be a 'hit man' after gaining the trust of Ciaro during short conversations over the course of the long wait. Just exactly who sent this 'hit man' is not revealed, however, the implication is that he was sent by D'Allesandro in retaliation for Hoffa's threat to 'go to the press'. Hoffa is gunned down in the back seat of his car and Ciaro is shot while attempting to come to Hoffa's aid. Ciaro's body is dumped on top of Hoffa's and the car is driven into the back of a large truck that had driven up as the shootings were taking place. (This is a bit of artistic liberty as in reality Hoffa's car was found abandoned at the diner on the afternoon of his disappearance.) The camera focuses on the roll-up door of the truck showing the different state plates, implying a final bit of irony: that Hoffa's dead body is being transported, in all likelihood, by a Teamster driver. The truck drives off into the sunset and the movie ends.

Inaccuracies[link]

The film's portrayal of Hoffa's demise bears little resemblance to the actual events of July 30, 1975. Rather than traveling to an isolated diner as shown in the movie, Hoffa had in fact gone to the Machus Red Fox, an upscale restaurant next to a shopping center in the affluent Detroit, Michigan suburb of Bloomfield Hills, intending to meet mobsters Tony Provenzano and Tony Giacalone.

Filming location[link]

Although it chronicles Hoffa's early years in Michigan to his leadership in New York City and Washington, D.C. and his death in a Detroit suburb, almost all of the film was shot in and around Pittsburgh with the city's landmarks (such as Gateway Center in the "Idlewild Airport" police pullover scene, and the Mellon Institute depicting government buildings) serving as backdrops for the various locales in the film. The diner scenes were shot at an actual diner that was built then destroyed on Rt. 72 in Hampshire, Illinois.

Critical response[link]

Hoffa earned two Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Makeup. Nicholson's performance sharply divided critics, with the actor receiving both a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor. DeVito also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Director. Ultimately, none of the nominated awards were won. The film was also nominated for the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.^[1]

Cast[link]

• Jack Nicholson as James R. "Jimmy" Hoffa
• Danny DeVito as Robert "Bobby" Ciaro
• Armand Assante as Carol "Dally" D'Allesandro
• J. T. Walsh as Frank Fitzsimmons
• John C. Reilly as Peter "Pete" Connelly
• Frank Whaley as Young Trucker in Diner
• Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy
• John P. Ryan as Red Bennett
• Robert Prosky as Billy Flynn
• Natalia Nogulich as Jo Hoffa
• Nicholas Pryor as Hoffa's Attorney
• Paul Guilfoyle as Ted Harmon
• Karen Young as Young Woman at RTA
• Cliff Gorman as Solly Stein
• Jon Favreau as Extra (uncredited)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hoffa at the Internet Movie Database
• Hoffa at the TCM Movie Database
• Hoffa at AllRovi
• Hoffa at Rotten Tomatoes