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Dominick and Eugene (1988) More at IMDb Pro »

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21 comments in total

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Do yourself a favor...., 25 August 2002
Author: Tracey (Chick-Flick) from Brussels

Where to begin? Is it because it has two powerfully realistic performances that make the viewer forget that it's only a movie? Is it because it's filmed in my hometown? I must admit that it was because it was shot AND set in Pittsburgh that I went to see it immediately when it was released but I soon saw past all the familiar sights of the South Side to watch a drama unfold as if these were real people that I might have even known.

Tom Hulce's portrayal of Nicky was so riveting that even without words he was able to evoke emotion that spoke volumes -- that's talent deserving of the highest accolade. He is a man-child living to please those around him; especially the one person he has depended on his whole life - his twin brother who himself is deeply committed to becoming a doctor and fearing that leaving his mentally handicapped brother to pursue his dream will mean breaking his own and Nicky's heart.

Ray Liotta as Eugene plays out his own inner struggle to succeed but not at the expense of his brother's love with such poise that it hurt to watch when he would reprimand Nicky for not using common sense in his daily life. He wants to believe that his brother is capable of caring for himself but Nicky repeatedly gets himself into scrape after scrape. Add to the mix Larry, Nicky's partner on the garbage truck. He is the little devil that sits on Nicky's shoulder feeding him reasons to believe that his brother is "dumping him like a rock" when he begins tutoring a fellow medical student. This only upsets Nicky and forces Gino to admit that he is leaving.

This movie speaks to many issues -- brotherly love, family ties, independence, jealousy and abuse, all delivered with understated grace. This is a top shelf film that makes one happy and sad by the end. There aren't enough movies like this.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Cynical moviegoers..go away, 27 August 2001

Author: Boyo-2

But the rest of us, who love a good sentimental and emotional story that is a lock to get you crying..enjoy!

Tom Hulce is magnificent as Dominick, a mentally slow trashman who loves professional wrestling and his brother, Eugene, played by Ray Liotta, who is a doctor and who works very long hours.

Due to Eugene's work schedule, Dominick is alone a lot of the time and tends to make questionable judgment calls. He really just wants to be a good boy, to do the right thing, and to make his brother proud of him. He stops in church to pray at one point and expresses his emotions so openly and so well that the character has you crying before the damn movie even gets really started.

Not about to give anything away here, but the movie is extremely involving and sad and heartbreaking. Those unafraid of these things will have a field day with this beautiful story, its loving characters and a great song I cannot quote here, that has nothing to do with the movie at all but is strangely appropriate..but you hear it in a bar.

I thought Tom Hulce would be nominated for this movie, since he was for 'Amadeus' I figured that might give him the inside track to actually winning. No such luck. Liotta is just as good but has less of an emotional impact, but then he does later on. All I can say about Jamie Lee Curtis is that she doesn't have much of a part here but it was nice of her to lend her name to a small drama set in Pittsburgh about two brothers who you will never forget.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
great movie, 31 May 2003
Author: jgorto from new jersey

this is a great movie one of ray liotta's best. i saw it on hbo as a kid and i have loved it ever since. it shows that one person can make a positive difference in other people's lives.great acting and a very good storyline make this movie a must see.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie I could not forget even if I tried, 13 May 2005

Author: MoviesGuy from United States

I want to warn you that there is a very bittersweet quality to this comment. Also, this comment will be much more meaningful to you after you have seen the movie.

Although it is tragically sad to say, that movie bears a resemblance to my life that is so striking that it is truly scary. The rest of you will never know how accurately that movie depicts how persons who have been in situations like that act and react in their later lives.

This could not have been a work of fiction; it had to be based on personal experience.

My testament to the how good the movie was is shown by the fact that, although it was one of the best movies I've ever seen, watching my life portrayed on the silver screen was such a searingly painful experience that I will never be able to see it again.

But I endorse it heartily to all others as a chance to peer into the soul of another human being to the extent that you probably never experienced before or will ever again. I know that for a fact, because that's my soul you will be observing.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Heart-Wrenching Film, 5 October 2007

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

If you have any kind of heart and compassion for people, this is a tough movie to watch, at least in the second half of it.

It's in that segment where we see nice little kid get beaten up and then a retarded (mentally- challenged) man go off the deep end after he witnesses this brutal act against the child. It's not pleasant material.

However, it's a good movie and the acting is good, too. The story will sit with you awhile.

"Dominick" is the mentally-disabled guy and is played by Tom Hulce. I think this might be Hulce's best role ever. He's looked after by a med student, "Eugene," played by Ray Liotta, who became a star the following year with Kevin Costner's "Field Of Dreams."

Dominick is a goodhearted garbage man who reads "Hulk" comic books and loves wrestling. He's the type of "slow" guy that you can't help but love and root for to live a happy life. When he freaks out, it's for several good reasons and...well, see the film for the whole story. It's worth your time but be prepared to go on real emotional roller coaster and possibly be very upset at some things you see.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent film - vastly underrated!, 25 December 1998

Author: Drewboy-2

This film was excellent - the emotional power of Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta's performances brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart - this film shows us that there is still hope in the world. If this film had come out at the end of 1988, instead of Rain Man, Hulce would certainly have been at least nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Definitely a must-see!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
The Meaning of Strength, 21 February 2007

Author: bradleyadita from Chicago, IL

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Dominick (Nicky) Luciano wears a 'Hulk' T-shirt and trudges off everyday to perform his duties as a garbage man. He uses his physical power in picking up other's trash and hauling it to the town dump. He reads comic-book hero stories and loves wrestlers and wrestling, Going to WrestleMania with his twin brother Eugene on their birthday is a yearly tradition. He talks kindly with the many people he comes in contact with during his day. He reads comic books, which he finds in the trash, with a young boy who he often passes by while on the garbage route. Unfortunately, Dominick has a diminished ability to use his mind. He has a disability.

Dominick's disability came as a result of an injury to the head in which he suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI). This injury left him slower, though it did not change his core characteristic as a strong individual who helps to protect others. Dominick is actually more able to live independently than he may seem at the beginning of the film. He lives with Eugene who is studying to become a doctor. Dominick provides the main source of income, while Eugene is off studying. Eugene must face the fact that he is to continue his education in a different city, and that he must move away from Dominick. Eugene also develops a romance which begins to separate him from his twin brother.

The film deals specifically with domestic abuse and how this can impact individuals, families, and then society as a whole. The strain that escalates between Eugene and Dominick as Eugene realizes that he must eventually leave Nicky, exploded on their birthday night. Eugene yells at Dominick and throws him against the wall. In this moment, Eugene must confront his own fears of being like his abusive father, the father which Dominick protected him against while he himself became the victim of the abuse. This event cemented the love between the two brothers, who from then on became the best of friends. Though they needed each other, they also both needed independence and the ability to grow and develop relationship with others. The fact that they must part ways became a very real emotional strain. However, by the end of the film, Dominick is able to say good bye to his brother and wish him luck. Eugene is able to leave his brother with the confidence that he has started to make a social network of people who care about him and will help him with his independence.

When Dominick witnesses the abuse of his friend he is forced to come face to face with the cause of his own trauma. In this state of extreme stress, Dominick almost completely shuts down. He then runs after the ambulance to the hospital to see what happened to his friend. After learning that the boy has died, he is confronted by the abusive father who, fearing his testimonial, tells him he didn't see nothing, doesn't know anything, and not to say anything, and that if he does he will kill him. Now that his own life has been threatened, he goes and find the hand gun that Larry used to kill the rats. He goes to the wake of the deceased boy and at gunpoint, kidnaps the baby of the grieving family. He runs away from the scene and hides in a building. When the police surround him, Eugene goes in the building to talk to his brother. Eugene then reveals the cause of Dominick's disability and they bring the baby back. The abusive father then wields a gun of his own threatening to kill Dominick, but Eugene stops him and Dominick tells the crowd that he saw the father throw his son down the stairs.

Through the climactic ending, the issue of dysfunctional behavior comes into view. Though Dominick's instinct to save the baby can be understood, we also see how damaging this response is. Dominick put the baby's life and his own life in grave danger. The larger societal consequences of these events is not directly implicated, but rather shown through the films ending. Despite the more optimistic ending portrayal, another sequence of events might just have likely occurred, in which Dominick is charged with kidnapping and possession of a firearm. It is somewhat difficult to believe that this went completely unaccounted. Furthermore, even if Dominick is not charged, there may still be a stigma against him within the community, not that there wasn't one before these events. Instead, the film shows that we must be able to recognize problematic behavior and act to curb it.

Dominick and Eugene was released in 1988, the same year as another film, Rainman, which won 5 Academy Awards. While Rainman was an achievement and helped increase the visibility with person with disabilities, it could be argued that Dominick and Eugene holds more valuable lessons for society. Whereas, Rainman demonstrated that mainstream American society might be able to learn from and care for a 'savant', if the 'savant' is the inheritor of a large estate. Dominick and Eugene show that a person with a disability might be able to care for and help save members of American society. The message of an independent person with disabilities may have been too strong for 1988. Hopefully someday society will see the strengths of individuals with disabilities, not as a threat, but as imperative for the strength of society.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
My Brother's Keeper, 12 March 2003
Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj

DOMINICK AND EUGENE (1988) ***1/2 Ray Liotta, Tom Hulce, Jamie Lee Curtis, Todd Graff, Bill Cobb, David Strathairn. One little gem of a sleeper that was ironically released the same year as "Rain Man" with some parallel storylines: the troubling and realistic portrayal of twin brothers, one mentally challenged (Hulce believeably perfect as a man/child) and the other a brilliant medical student (Liotta in arguably his finest performance) whose love for one another is only challenged by the undying bond of guilt and responsibility. Beautifully told with a wonderful score by Trevor Jones and some heart wrenching moments by the film's end. Possibly the best told story of sibling love among brothers. Directed with a steady hand by Robert M. Young and produced by actor Mike Farrell (best known as BJ Hunnicut on TV's "M.A.S.H.")

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Oscar Worthy Performance!, 11 February 1999

Author: jbdean from California

TOM HULCE* turns in yet another Oscar-worthy performance as Dominick Luciano, the brain-damaged garbage man who's helping put his brother (Ray Liotta as Eugene) through medical school.

This is a must-see for all movie lovers and all lovers of life and people!

===========> *From the small studder to the eratic dancing, to the repeated words "Oh, Jeez" whenever Nicky is in a bind, the belieavablitly of Tom's performance is so excellent that you will have to concentrate to remember that it's an actor on screen!

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Great acting and story of twins, 9 March 2008

Author: Borg222 from Seattle

One of my favorite movies I saw at preview in Seattle. Tom Hulce was amazing, with out words could convey his feelings/thoughts. I actually sent Mike Ferrell some donation money to help the film get distributed. It is good. System says I need more lines but do not want to give away plot stuff. I was in the audience in Seattle with Hulce and director , a writer I think and Mike Ferrell. They talked for about an hour afterwords. Not really a dry eye in the house. Why Hollywood continues to be stupid I do not know. ( actually I do know , it is our fault, look what we watch)Well you get what you pay for guys. Get this and see it with someone special. It is a gem.

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