It was the summer of 2001. I had just taken a shower and receded to the downstairs of our North Carolina beach house to watch a movie with my three sisters. I did not know what the movie was, but as soon as I saw the first scene, I was magnetically drawn to the lead character, Henry. Played by Ray Liotta, he had piercing green eyes, and a beautiful yet scarred face, scattered pock marks reflecting his rough life and gangster persona. I was attached to this character, this man who was so strikingly gorgeous, yet allowed his life fall into the mob. The first scene was a gruesome bludgeoning of a gang boss. Joe Pesci repeatedly stabbed and beat a white haired man, of about age 60, as he was bound and gagged in the back of a trunk. The violence was disturbing, yet I continued to watch, my eyes locked on Ray Liotta's character, Henry, the man who just stood and watched, as his best friend commited a heinous crime.
Bennett Place, a carefully reconstructed historic ...
Topographic map of North Carolina
English: Joe Pesci in 2009.
English: Liotta buttons, the choice 'Ray Liotta' i...
Joe Pesci as "Bernzy".
English: restored Tryon Palace, New Bern, NC