Billy Bathgate

Watch Billy Bathgate (1991) online on iFILM — a crime drama directed by Robert Benton, adapted from E. L. Doctorow's National Book Award-winning novel by playwright Tom Stoppard. New York, 1935: a street kid named Billy catches the eye of Dutch Schultz, one of the last old-school mob bosses still operating before the federal crackdown, and gets pulled into his orbit.

Dustin Hoffman plays Schultz as a man whose charm and violence share the same trigger — you never know which one shows up. Nicole Kidman is Drew, Dutch's girlfriend, smart enough to see exactly where her situation is heading. Bruce Willis appears early as Bo Weinberg, and disappears in the way people disappear when a gangster no longer finds them useful. Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci round out the crew.

The film is quieter and more literary than its cast might suggest — less about shootouts, more about a teenager figuring out that apprenticing yourself to a monster is one kind of education. Benton keeps the period atmosphere tight without turning it into a museum piece. Stream Billy Bathgate (1991) on iFILM.