Tom Hardy’s new film, in which he plays gangster Al Capone, is leaving many critics feeling sick, and much to the amusement of its director.
Chronicle filmmaker Josh Trank’s new release follows Capone as he suffers from syphilis and dementia while living in Florida after serving 11 years in prison for tax evasion.
Hardy’s performance has divided critics, with The Wrap writing that the actor “laughs in the face of conventional notions of good vs bad acting”.
Variety adds: “Hardy gives a mumbly Method showboat performance that’s authentic on the surface, but there isn’t enough beneath the mob mannerisms.”
However, it’s the scenes in which Capone is shown emptying his bowels that are leaving viewers with a bad aftertaste.
Next Best Picture, who called it “one of the worst performances of Tom Hardy’s career”, said the actor “grunts, coughs and shits his way through scenes that lack any form of direction, sympathy and/or purpose.”
”It made me sick,” he added.
Trank, whose previous film was the maligned Fantastic Four, shared the tweet, writing: “I need this quote on a poster for my room.”
IndieWire wrote about the “admirably uncommercial” film: “If you’ve ever wanted to see an Al Capone biopic that starts and ends with Tom Hardy explosively s***ing his pants, I’ve got some really good news.”
Trank added that he found people being disgusted by the defecation scenes amusing, and compared the comments to those made about John Waters film Pink Flamingos, which saw drag queen Divine eat real dog faeces.
“Loving and appreciating all reviews of Capone today – the good and the bad makes me want to see the film again and enjoy it all over,” Trank wrote.
He urged viewers to ”go in with an open mind”.
Capone also stars Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden, Noel Fisher, Kyle MacLachlan, and Matt Dillon, and will be released in the UK later this year, following a video-on-demand release in the US.
