ALBERT FINNEY
                                                    Part Two

Another chapter in the career of the late Albert Finney, who died recently.
Who better to play an aging bombastic Shakespearean actor lording it over everyone than Albert Finney? In the role of Sir in The Dresser (1983) he is exactly that and Tom Courtenay is the hapless servant who accedes to his boss’ every need. It quickly becomes clear that each of them cannot live without the other. A high point of this, or any film, is when Sir commands a moving train to STOP. And it does! The director (Peter Yates), Messrs Finney and Courtenay and the film were all nominated for Oscar but none of them won.
Miller’s Crossing (1990) is one of the excellent gangster films that came out in the 90's. Albert Finney appears as the Irish mobster Leo O’Bannon. An Italian gang seeks to replace him as head of the city’s rackets. The title comes from the spot where an assassination is supposed to take place, but doesn’t. Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gray Harden and John Turturo add to the fun. This is, rather strangely, a delicate mob film.
While Erin Brokovich (2000) is largely about the title character, charmingly played by Julia Roberts, Albert Finney has a good turn as her boss, attorney Ed Masry. Erin’s spectacularly inappropriate workplace attire draws the ire of her fellow workers, but she doesn’t care. Assigned a simple case of land purchase, she digs deeply into the problems of the owners and their neighbors. She finds that Pacific Electric & Gas has been polluting the water supply for years, endangering the lives of its customers. A big lawsuit develops, thanks to Erin, and PE&G gets socked with a big verdict. Erin is rewarded with a monumental bonus. 
Traffic (2000) is Stephen Soderberg’s 3-hour take on the drug trade. It won four Oscars and sired a so-so TV series. Albert Finney is on board as the White House chief of staff who seems as clueless about drugs as the modern version. 
Albert Finney has a role as the possibly evil Dr. Hirsch in two of the highly successful Bourne films, 2007's Bourne Ultimatum and 2012's Bourne Legacy. He can also be seen as Kincade, gamekeeper of James Bond’s home, Skyfall (2012).
In the fantasy-comedy Big Fish (2003) Mr. Finney appears as dying patriarch Edward Bloom. His tall (?) tales of his early life as a traveling salesman are a highlight of the film. 
In Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007) Albert Finney has a principal role as Charles Hanson, who isn’t satisfied with the investigation of a botched robbery involving his sons and resulting in the death of his wife (played by Tar Heel Rosemary Harris).  There are twists and turns not hard to follow. This was the last film directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet. 
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.