What about Vin Diesel's hair in 'Find Me Guilty'?
Here's to you, Jeff Abney.
Vin Diesel’s rep has seen better days.
At the moment, his latest “Fast and Furious” sequel is waiting for the jet to leave the runway with a new director. Louis Leterrier is taking over for franchise vet Justin Lin, which is about as bad of a sign as the “F & F” franchise can get outside of Diesel leaving the series.
For his critics, I am sorry to announce he isn’t going backwards with the tenth installment--even if he has to direct it himself.
But let’s go back in time a little, and revisit Diesel when he was actually trying to act. What if I told you he was in a film directed by the late Sidney Lumet called “Find Me Guilty?” A movie about the longest mob trial in history, with Diesel portraying Jackie DiNorscio. The mobster refused to testify against the Lucchese crime family. When Jackie does finally get into court, he decides to defend himself for a drug charge.
Comedy and some drama ensue. It’s a different-looking role for fans of the actor who only know him when he’s bald and beating folks up. Lumet, like Steven Spielberg in “Saving Private Ryan” and Ben Younger’s “Boiler Room,” stripped away the physical ferocity of Diesel’s screen persona to actually carve out a character who was interesting.
Think of the earlier “Fast” films. “Find Me Guilty” was an unkempt yet intriguing mobster movie, and a big part of that was Diesel’s….. hair!
Yep, forget the face and muscles. This performance was driven by the best wig cheap Hollywood money (Sidney made films on the cheap) could buy. It looked like a combination of every other Nic Cage role and Chris Hemsworth’s hairdo as Thor. Mix that with poorly tailored suits and a lot of grinning, and you have the hair design that didn’t win an Oscar.
It’s a character in itself. I rest my case, Ramble On free and paid subscribers. Speaking of which, don’t forget: