The Trip to Rhode Island

1
I was intrigued by Chris and Silvio's trip to Rhode Island to visit the aging mobsters. There's the old blind man, his blind daughter, a guy on oxygen, another old guy, and a very strange younger man, also named Chris, all in this creaky old house filled with Catholic imagery. What was Junior thinking by recommending these guys to perform a mob hit? Was this an early sign of Junior's dementia? Was this a nod to the three witches in Macbeth? I am interested in fans' thoughts and comments on this scene.

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

2
In "The kitchen sink" forum I have a thread on this very subject Slong. It's called "Lingering questions about the weight". Great call by aprilemoney about the "Atwell avenue boys", based on a real crime family in Providence called the Patriarca family.

It's an interesting point you raise about Junior's state of mind in suggestiing using these crazies. The onset of his dementia? Or just the romance of an old man thinking of the good old days ? Recalling the wild days of his youth. Great shout about the witches in Macbeth. There's clearly something very similar in a bunch of old hags conspiring all kinds of diablical deeds.

Another tihing that I think is in there as well is that of contrast. By that I mean the contrast between the characters we know, Chris and Sil, and the crazies. These make Chris and Sil look "normal".We identify with them as the " regular" guys compared to these nutjobs. See my point? We KNOW how dysfunctional the guys are but beside this lot they're like social workers. Welcome to the site.

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

3
Bit of trivia. The guy w/ the oxygen mask was richard bright who played Al Neri in the Godfather. He died shortly after that by getting hit by a bus.

Stopping at Federal hill makes perfect sense to put together a hit for a mark in boston (especially if you're in NJ). My old stomping grounds still have a bunch of oldtimers hanging on. They just sold Raymonds Coinomatic though

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

4
bloodshot wrote:Bit of trivia. The guy w/ the oxygen mask was richard bright who played Al Neri in the Godfather. He died shortly after that by getting hit by a bus.

Stopping at Federal hill makes perfect sense to put together a hit for a mark in boston (especially if you're in NJ). My old stomping grounds still have a bunch of oldtimers hanging on. They just sold Raymonds Coinomatic though
I remember reading about that horrid accident that killed Bright. Sadly, it's the first thing I think about now when I see him or hear his name, not the fact that he was in my favorite films of all time and had that brief role in Sopranos.

Those RI guys were creepy weird, though. Perfect fit for the unique sense of humor on the Sopranos.
Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

5
bloodshot wrote:Bit of trivia. The guy w/ the oxygen mask was richard bright who played Al Neri in the Godfather. He died shortly after that by getting hit by a bus.

Stopping at Federal hill makes perfect sense to put together a hit for a mark in boston (especially if you're in NJ). My old stomping grounds still have a bunch of oldtimers hanging on. They just sold Raymonds Coinomatic though
Wow, great spot about Richard Bright being in the Godfather and I hadn't heard about his fatal accident, very sad. In his oxygen mask I am always spookily reminded of Denis Hopper in the film "Blue velvet"and in fact the whole scene has that kind of David Lynch "Wild at heart " quality about it. I can't be sure obviously but I think Chase was going for that kind of feel with the scene. Your imagination runs away with you as to what sort of twisted depravity they get up to in their "House on haunted hill". Even tough guys like Chris and Sil just want to get the fuck outta Dodge as soon as!

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

6
dsweeney have u listened to the commentry track for this episode? its the writer (i forget his name at this point but hes a producer as well on the show) he calls this scene an ode to david lynch and the adams family!!! so your spot on! thats one of the things i like about the sopranos the strangeness.

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

7
The (Sopanos) Family :icon_mrgreen:

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Sopraaanos Fam-uh-lee!

Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Sopraaanos Fam-uh-lee!

(Neat)
(Sweet)
(Petite)

So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Sopraaanos Fam-uh-lee! :icon_mrgreen:

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

8
Bob Dylan would be proud to have written this.! Brilliant! Someone should put it to the music. And cheers don antonio for the heads up on the commentary, I'll check it out. They definitely got what they were after I think. In fact what about that for a movie spin-off? God only knows what the Atwell Avenue boys have got up to. An idea for a tag-line; "The Sopranos they wouldn't talk about"! Who wouldn't want to see that ? Jeez!

Re: The Trip to Rhode Island

9
This is one of my favorite comical scenes of the series, at first when Sil and Chris are trying to force each other to enter first... then when the blind lady causes Chris to literally jump and move out of the way, then the end when the guy points at Chris and he looks so frightened... classic... but I dont think it had anything to do with Juniors dementia, he said him self "those old dogs still can hunt" meaning they might be old (and weird I guess) but they can still get the job done, plus im sure Tony would do a bit of research to make sure they were worthy.
Post Reply

Return to “Episode 4.04: The Weight”