Steve Buscemi’s Feature Directorial Debut Directly Influenced ‘The Sopranos’

What David Chase did with his acclaimed, masterful TV show The Sopranos should never be understated and hopefully never will be. He ushered in a new era of television, paving the way for shows like The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men. His show has consistently driven the medium to new heights, leaving us with the astounding level of programming we have to this day. And Chase has never been shy about expressing his admiration for mobster films and the influences that they have had upon The Sopranos. Certainly any mob film or TV series that has come since The Sopranos is greatly indebted to this series. There is one small, indie film, however, that David Chase has spoken about before when it comes to what influenced him in developing The Sopranos.

Trees Lounge is a 1996 independent film that is the writing and directing debut of renowned actor Steve Buscemi. It’s a black comedy that centers around the eponymous bar where the main character and his friends all hang out, as their self-destructive tendencies come to the fore. Thematically and stylistically, there are a lot of similarities between Buscemi’s film and Martin Scorsese‘s After Hours, both with the film’s humor and wider discussions about alcohol use and misuse.

What Is Steve Buscemi’s ‘Trees Lounge’ About?

Trees Lounge premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996 during the Director’s Fortnight, an independent strand of the more well-known French celebration of cinema. Renowned critic Roger Ebert looked kindly upon the film, giving it a rating of 3.5 stars out of 4, particularly effusive in his praise for how Buscemi depicted alcoholism and the “portrait of the daily saloon drinker.” The film didn’t permeate into pop culture the way you’d think, but that does not take away from what is an incredibly smart, sharp, and scathing comedy.

Trees Lounge opens as Tommy Basilio (Buscemi) loses both his job as a mechanic and his girlfriend. He takes over driving and operating an ice-cream truck from his uncle Al (Seymour Cassel), who unfortunately passed away while driving the truck himself. Tommy enjoys a cocaine binge at his uncle’s wake and ends up at the eponymous bar with his cousins, where a brawl breaks out between them and Mike (Mark Boone Junior).

Debbie (Chloë Sevigny), the niece of Tommy’s pregnant ex-girlfriend, Theresa (Elizabeth Bracco), joins Tommy in the ice-cream truck and then the bar, where she claims Tommy is her boyfriend, so that she will get served. From then on, the film is filled with fights, deep discussions, hospital visits, and, of course, drinking. All of this leads to the film to end on a wistful, somber note, aligning itself with some of the greatest and most realistic films about alcoholism.

‘The Sopranos’ David Chase Loved Visiting the ‘Trees Lounge’

While the film was billed as a comedy, it is anything but a straight bundle of laughs. The film’s serious message about alcoholism, and the self-destructive tendencies that are driven by it, do not exactly suggest a riotous, zany, Mel Brooks film. The film straddles that balance between comedy and tragedy perfectly, treating one and both the same. Its grim overtones and intense themes are coupled with a dark, humorous outlook on the very events of the character’s lives. The film could risk becoming too heavy if it weren’t for the sharpness and wit of Buscemi’s slice-of-life story.

Anyone who watches Trees Lounge with The Sopranos in their back-pocket will be delighted to see how many acting crossovers there are. Michael Imperioli, Elizabeth Bracco, John Ventimiglia, as well as Buscemi himself, all had major roles in David Chase’s mafia drama, having featured in Buscemi’s directorial debut. Chase hired Buscemi to direct a few episodes of The Sopranos, most notably the “Pine Barrens” episode from Season 3, which is often regarded as one of the best episodes of the entire series. Chase liked Trees Lounge and Buscemi’s work so much that he even hired the same casting directors that Buscemi used, hardly making it a surprise that there is such a large crossover of actors.

David Chase has spoken about his love for Buscemi’s work on this film in the renowned book, The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of conversations and critical essays covering the entire series, with new full-length conversations between the writers and Chase as well, bringing a unique insight into the creation of one of television’s greatest ever works. Chase praises Trees Lounge for being “so well-directed and clear, and not baroque or anything like that.” He mentions how Trees Lounge is a “great film about the small, sad realities of life” and how he fit that into The Sopranos throughout the show’s run. Similarly to The Sopranos, Trees Lounge wasn’t glamorous, and instead had more of a slice-of-life tone that wasn’t overtly sentimental. It’s clear that Chase saw something both in Buscemi’s small film and in the actor-writer-director himself. The Sopranos draws from a myriad of inspirations from the worlds of film and television, and we have Steve Buscemi to thank for some small, but significant parts of that.

Trees Lounge is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.

Watch on Prime Video