Nearly 19 years ago, in a motion picture called The Kid, a saucy, bright-eyed little ragamuffin, taffy hair rumpled untidily under a tattered caricature of a cap, scampered into .
His life, a spiraling series of small revelations, major evasions and consequent breakdowns, bears down on him untidily and at unexpected moments.
Gangland murders increased, rival racketeers died untidily, and Charlie prospered.