The crime drama inspired by the true events of the 1980s drug wars, Silent Partners, made its world premiere at the 42nd Annual Miami Film Festival on April 3, 2025, as part of the festival’s Opening Night celebrations. The film was released worldwide on all major streaming platforms on May 13, 2025. Produced by Ciro Dapagio Films and Godwins Productions, Silent Partners is directed by Jokes Yanes and the screenplay is written by J. Bishop, along with Antoni Corrone.
The film stars in the cast include Ciro Dapagio (writer/producer), James Russo, Antoni Corone (writer), Garry Pastore, Nick Vallelonga, Saul Stein, Rafael Castillo, Karmela Bortoleti, Mike Marino, Lou Silver, Lola Dapagio, Barry Jay Minoff, James Bishop, and Lika Osipova.
Narrated by Valentine (Ciro Dapagio, “The MobKing” web series), a mafia enforcer from Chicago is introduced at the beginning of the film in a scene depicting one of his visits to enforce whatever deal has been set previously. The story goes on to tell the viewer how decisions were made to move some operations to Florida. Valentine is “selected” to make the move, along with Kofax (Antoni Corone) among others. It is not long into the film when these two are working in a brick-and-mortar office to “sell insurance” to those who think their jobs that come with risk can get coverage. Yes, of course, there are details not mentioned at this point so as not to spoil the fun.
As the Valentine/Kofax side hustle begins to take shape, a wrinkle in their plan surfaces with a new client. Nick (Ronnie Marmo) is attempting to secure information about Fat Dave (Garry Pastore) and Lil’ Dave (Joseph D’Onofrio). Every scene seems to contain a multitude of characters that come along with the main one now, so that may appear as “fluff” and may create confusion for the viewer. This is not a reflection on the cast, as this goes back to the screenplay/script. It may reflect how many people are involved on either side of the law back in the 80s when this is set. I will suggest not walking away from your device when you are watching the film through screening, as you just might forget where in the story you are with the evolving cast members.
Overall, fans of “mob” or ‘mafia” stories/films will like it, especially with Dapagio in his performance as Valentine. As soon as he is on camera, there is no doubt he is an enforcer with his deep voice, height and broad shoulders.
Not bad for a runtime of 1 hour and 22 minutes. It sure seems like it is an R rated film with the violence.
Source: Breaking Glass Pictures, IMDb
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