Mob movies tend to view the crime world from an exclusively male perspective, so this fact-based drama about a Mafia wife at least has novelty on its side.
Angela follows a Palermo shoestore owner (Donatella Finocchiaro) who helps ship her drug kingpin husband's skag in shoeboxes. Respite from her cheapskate hubby comes in the form of Masino (Andrea Di Stefano), a hot-headed hood in the Sonny Corleone mould. But as the cops close in, their secret affair takes a deadly turn.
Roberta Torre's slow-burn drama has plenty going for it, not least Finocchiaro's absorbing big-screen debut. A celebrated stage actress, she combines nonchalant cool, touching vulnerability and reservoirs of untapped passion. Unfortunately, despite taking in a few neat twists en route to its poignant conclusion, the script's fidelity to true-life events means the action fizzles out just when it should explode, making Angela a little too lightweight to join the genre's big boys.
