Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie (De Niro) is a meek police photographer who lives alone in a small apartment. One day he inadvertently saves the life of mobster Frank Milo (Murray). Milo feels indebted to him and befriends him. Although this is an unwanted friendship for Wayne he doesn't know what to do about it. One-day Milo's barmaid Glory (Thurman) arrives on Wayne's doorstep saying she is a thank you "gift" from Milo and must stay for a week. She is being forced to work off a debt owed to Milo by offering him her "services". Wayne falls for Glory and wants to help her but after the week Milo wants Glory back and is not so friendly anymore. Wayne must now go up against the crime boss to keep his love. But will she stay with him if he does?

The disarmingly low-key Mad Dog and Glory is a real little gem. Rarely does a film mix humor and drama to such a good effect. It's an intimate and character driven film with a sweet soul beneath its occasionally brutal edges. The basic story line is pretty run-of-the-mill, the most enjoyment in the film comes with the little nuances evident in the great collection of characters and with the cleverly subtle performances.

Ironically nicknamed Mad Dog, Wayne is a man who is instead ruled by his shyness. He's afraid of any sort of confrontation, whether it be at work or socially, hostile or friendly. He has such a complete lack of confidence in himself that he even turns down an opportunity at pursuing his dream of entering the art world because there's no safety net should he fail. His world is a small and lonely one, but he can't bring himself to do anything about it. When a change is FORCED on him by a show of friendship from Frank Milo, he is in turn simply too timid to decline it.

When Glory arrives on Wayne's doorstep his immediate response is to want to get rid of her as quickly as possible, but finds he can't. Wayne, who's experience with women is expectedly short, now finds himself with a beautiful one living right in his apartment who appears to like him a lot, despite himself he quickly and hopelessly falls in love. He hadn't realized how lonely he was until he was reached out to by Glory, and now that he has someone, he doesn't want to give her up for anything. He finds the stimulant to fight his own cowardice in Glory.

Glory came to Wayne to merely do her duty, she shows him affection to keep Milo off her back. She may even be manipulating Wayne to get her out of the jam she's in. Glory however finds herself genuinely moved by Wayne's kindness and devotion to her. Someone who has spent a year being a gangster's "property" doesn't have particularly high self-esteem and Wayne's actions on her behalf have a profound effect. So fond does she become of him that she finds she can't let him risk himself to try and save her. Wayne and Glory's relationship isn't a copybook one. Both are in need, and both are giving each other what they need, but those things are different.

For his part, Frank Milo is not an obvious character either. He's a successful mobster who would still rather be a comic. He has the clear aura of a man who's not happy with where he is in life. When Wayne puts it to him "I think we would both rather be somewhere else", the insincere way Milo denies it is as much a confirmation of this. Wayne takes Milo's offer of friendship as somehow threatening, but the truth is, Milo did probably just want a REAL friend, as opposed to the chumps that he runs with that worship the ground he walks on. With Glory in between them though, friendship becomes impossible. He feels taken advantage of and hurt by Wayne. Not your every day Hollywood gangster.

The film is essentially serious in tone and ultimately quite moving, the fact that it's often terrifically funny as well comes from the way characters struggle with their own limitations and desires and with the way their differences react with each other. Wayne's tough-guy buddy Mike (Caruso) is the antithesis of Wayne but every thing that Wayne wants to be. Mike reassures him that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, "if I ever had an intelligent thought it'd die a lonely death".

With such rich characters on display, it's fitting that Mad Dog and Glory should have such a fantastic cast. De Niro, Thurman and Murray all capture their characters perfectly and have great rapport in their respective scenes together. They each manage to bring much more to their characters than what is necessarily on the page to begin with. In smaller roles Caruso and Mike Starr as Milo's hulking henchman add funny support as they fight their own little battle of one-up-man ship.

Producer Martin Scorsese chose John McNaughton (Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer) as director to give the film a different feel, and it works. His style is unflashy and intimate, which is exactly right for the script. He allows the scenes to breath and the action to focus on the characters. It's hard to believe the same guy went on to film Wild Things, which is the complete opposite of this film.

The film ends with a predictable but believable conclusion. It's completely understandable why Glory would want to stay with Wayne at that time, how could an honorable person not? Whether the two stay together for the long run is another matter, but one thing's for certain, they are both much better off for knowing each other. Mad Dog and Glory is a film that's simple on the surface but rich with interesting characters and funny moments if you take the care to look. As Roger Ebert says "it helps if you pay attention". Definitely a film that gets better for repeated viewings.

Mad Dog and Glory was one of the best films that Uma did early in her career, it's very close to getting a 9/10 rating. Besides, it probably would have been worth doing only for the opportunity to act opposite Robert De Niro. She apparently impressed in her audition by charging in and throwing De Niro across the room.

It's one of Uma's most down to earth performances, she discards any sense of glamour as Glory, appearing somewhat mousy and unsure. Moments like her attempted seduction of Wayne are amusingly clumsy. It's a tender and sweet portrayal of a woman out of her place and worn down by it, but still determined to grin and bare it. I think it's one of her most touching performances.

It's interesting to note how Uma adapts her voice to suit Glory. In the big emotional scenes, gone is the throaty roar of Henry and June, replaced with a more highly-strung and strained voice, she sounds more defenseless. Glory is extremely vulnerable but is trying her hardest to keep herself together. Uma gives a real sense of a woman who could at any moment shatter under the strain of it all.

There is a very intimate scene during Mad Dog and Glory between Uma and De Niro where they get one of those perfect acting moments, where they just nail it and reveal the souls if their characters completely. It's one of Uma's most brilliant moments on screen, but I'll let you find exactly where it is for yourselves. She may even be unaware of it herself.

Uma Thurman: "Everything I had heard about De Niro, that he was totally concerned with himself, was opposite to my experience. He gave everything to me as a performer, shouted at me off-camera till he was hoarse to get me into the emotional state that the scene required and that I was struggling to get to. He was an absolutely pure and pristine professional, an actor who demands total concentration on the work. There is a wonderful empowerment, once he sets foot on the set, that he brings to any project. We became friends, though contrary to rumor never an item."