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. | Gangs
of New York
(2002) |
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19th Century New York is raw, primordial and very violent. Gangs of ‘natives’ battle immigrants for supremacy. During one such clash, Irish gang leader, “Priest” Vallon (Liam Neeson) is killed by his opposite number – the native gang leader – William – Bill the Butcher – Cutting (Day-Lewis). Vallon’s young son, Amsterdam (Di Caprio) witnesses his father’s death but manages to escape. 16 years later, young Vallon returns seeking revenge only to find that Cutting has established himself as the local strong man and a successful entrepreneur involved in graft, extortion and larceny. Bent upon avenging his father Amsterdam, hiding his real identity, infiltrates Bill’s gang in a first step towards his revenge. All this is set amidst political jockeying, unchecked criminal activity and an encroaching civil war. Gangs of New York opens with a stunning sequence (set to Peter Gabriel’s Signal to Noise track) that ends in the bloody confrontation leading to the death of Priest Vallon and the dominance of the natives led by Bill the Butcher. The rest of the film is shot equally well and the attention to detail that has been a hallmark of Scorcese’s work is apparent. The costume design, set recreation and cinematography are immaculate. It is therefore somewhat surprising that this ‘attention to detail’ falls away alarmingly when it comes to the historical authenticity of the film. It is also ironic that Martin Scorsese, who has contributed so much to the ‘Italian immigrant’ film genre, should now chose to overlook their contribution to the history of New York. Also absent is the role of the Black community. Undoubtedly this is the weakest link in Gangs and Scorsese may have been better off concentrating on the Bill and Amsterdam ‘relationship’. Instead, Scorsese struggles in the last quarter of the film to prevent it from becoming too convoluted and confusing. Glossing over large parts of history, Gangs of New York finishes unsatisfactorily. However, despite these shortcomings, Gangs is still a stylish and powerful drama. At 2 hours and 45 minutes the film is a touch long but for most of the duration it moves smoothly without ever becoming boring. Scorsese’s skill at recreating and portraying street level spectacle in its most brutal form is perfect for capturing the lawless, anarchic and vibrant environment that was New York in the 19th century. It does however mean that Gangs of New York is extremely violent although much of this violence is implied rather than shown. But New York’s birth was clearly marked by great upheaval and bloodletting. Scorsese does not hold back in is depiction of these events. The film is also helped along greatly by the excellent performances of its two male protagonists. Di Caprio has managed to upstage many of his more illustrious colleagues (including De Niro and Hanks) but while he is good as Amsterdam Vallon he is unable to match the brilliance of Daniel Day-Lewis who is all bristling aggression and ferocious intensity as Bill the Butcher. Yet Day-Lewis is also able to bring a degree of sympathy to his character. Some will also remember Day-Lewis’ performance in another Scorsese New York Film – The Age of Innocence – and will marvel at the actor’s range. Cameron Diaz is slightly miscast in a small role but does nothing wrong. Scorsese
spent almost 10 years bringing Gangs to the big screen. It has
been a long and troubled path with release dates being pushed
back every year. The end product is somewhat disappointing coming
as it does from a man known as America’s greatest living
director. But as has also been pointed out, even Scorsese’s
bad films are better than most. Directed by anyone else this would
have been seen as a masterpiece. From Scorcese it’s good
but not great.
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