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170 out of 229 people found the following review useful:
He actually did it!, 12 February 2003
Author:
Rosacrux (ubik01@yahoo.com) from Athens, Greece
You'd think Scorcese has bitten a bit more than he could possibly chew,
this
time. Well, he didn't. Gangs of new York is not an "epic masterpiece" and
it
ain't that because I seriously doubt the directors aim was that. It's a
great movie in it's own account, but you have to watch it in the right
way.
The plot: Tight enough and well paced, with a couple of lows (expected
for a
three-hour film) but generally it comes out pretty neat. Some may find it
disturbing, as it contains extreme violence and it does not portray an
America of happy workers, even happier slaves, benevolent rich and just
authorities - instead, it portraits the true 1860 society. Definitely not
for those who like their films with plenty of sugar on the
top.
The epic and the drama: Well, basically the film is the story of two men.
Around them things evolve and a brave new world comes forth - but we only
get to watch snapshots of that world. Until the last sequence, that is
when
the whole city "explodes" (in some occasions literally...) and the
streets
are being covered in blood, and the two aspects (the main story and the
events of the era) are being tied together in the same continuum.
At the same time, the director attempts to portrait the whole birth and
growth of the United States, in a kind of parabole, but without loosing
his
focus on the main story and the surrounding. Scorsese dives deeply into
the
psychology of his heroes, without giving out any explanation of their
acts
other than the probable - he lets us figure it out ourselves, and that's
a
God-given gift.
The visuals: The film is disturbing, as it contains extreme violence.
There
are literally streams of blood, hacking, slashing, crushing - even some
action movie fans (hey dude, look, he smashed his head with that thing...
cool, man!") might find some parts of the film interesting. The last
sequence is visually astounding, and it's by it's own account a reason to
watch this film over and over again... if you got the stomach to actually
cope with the disturbing images, that is.
The actors: I didn't think it would come a day when I'd say that Leo Di
Caprio can act, but ...here I go: The kid can act. And quite good too.
Guess
he needed a Scorsese to put him in the right path. Same with Cameron
Diaz -
she has got some potential, seems so. Too bad she wastes it in films like
"the sweetest thing" and other throw-ups like that. And... Daniel Day
Lewis.
Truly, with this performance, they should give him the Academy award. He
portrays the vile "Butcher" in a way few would be able of, and he adds
depth
to a character that could very easily end up "two-dimensional". He is
stunningly good.
New York, New York: Scorsese gets involved in something that compares to
his
previous work the way a fancy little sports car compares to a huge truck:
A
grandioso film of epic proportions and of great ambition. He does
deliver, I
believe. But this film shall not be acknowledged universally, because
there
is too much violence, corruption, lack of the good old white vs black
(good
vs evil, I mean) concept and does not sweeten the pill in any way. It's
disturbing and raw, and it's a great. It's not a political film - in
such,
the director usually picks a stance, a "true" hero, an opposing view, and
builds upon those. In this case, the director is truly endistancemented
and
keeps that distance, even from his "hero". There are no "good" people in
that movie, all are acting like chess pieces in a predetermined way, but
at
the same time they try to burst out and do their own.
The verdict: A fabulous film, which is going to be recognized for such in
some years
145 out of 188 people found the following review useful:
Terrific Entertainment!, 30 January 2003
Author:
slimjack (gilbertfolio@gmail.com) from Elmira, NY
Gangs of New York is just perfect entertainment. It is an enthralling,
bloody, melodramatic epic that more than justifies its two and one half hour
running time. In Gangs director Martin Scorsese spins another tale of the
New York underworld but with a twist. Instead of the mid-twentieth century
organized crime milieu of Goodfellas, Scorsese ventures back to the 19th
century to show us the origin of the modern street gang.
It's the early 1860s and the notorious Five Points slum is ruled by the
savage `Bill the Butcher'. The viciously nationalistic Bill terrorizes all
the immigrant masses jammed into his slum but seems to harbor a particular
hatred for the Irish population. Into this seething cauldron wanders
mysterious young Amsterdam Vallon who soon works his way into the trust and
affection of Bloody Bill. Amsterdam, however, has a past with the
unsuspecting Butcher and sports an agenda not unlike a certain Prince of
Denmark. Bloody vengeance and dark betrayal soon come to pass, all played
against a backdrop of corruption and unrest that lead to up to the horrors
of New York Civil War draft riots.
Daniel Day-Lewis is marvelous as Bill the Butcher. His Bill is both
recognizably human and a full bore, moustache-twirling villain. Day-Lewis
strides his savage and profane way across the screen and steals the whole of
the movie. The only other actor to approach Day-Lewis' level is Jim
Broadbent as William 'Boss' Tweed. Broadbent is Tweed's spitting image and
he makes the grasping old pirate so winning we find ourselves rooting for
Tweed against the gaggle of reformers that infest his domain. Though
Leonardo DiCaprio is the nominal lead of the picture he is overshadowed by
his co-stars. Large, slope shouldered and vaguely brutish looking, DiCaprio
is physically perfect for Amsterdam. While he could have used some of the
fire and rage of a young James Cagney, DiCaprio's acting is superior
throughout the movie. The problem is that Amsterdam just isn't as flashy a
role as Bill or Tweed and, as good as DiCaprio is; Day-Lewis operates on a
whole other level. Cameron Diaz as the beautiful pickpocket Jenny, never
convinces that she is a product of the slums. Despite having considerable
screen time, Diaz fades into the background when compared to her more
powerful co-stars.
Just as important as the actors are to Gangs is the period atmosphere that
drips off the screen. The amazing old New York set has an air of lived in
reality that you could cut with a knife. You can almost smell the vermin.
Gangs is entirely free of the embalmed feeling you get from most modern
period movies. The cast handles the period argot as if it were their true
speech and wear their costumes like lived-in clothing. You come away
convinced that this is how the world looked and sounded in 1862.
Scorsese does eschew all nuance and subtlety in Gangs. Instead he tells his
tale in wide, bold, exploitive and melodramatic strokes that make the movies
two and a half hours fly by. Be warned that if you are waiting to see Gangs
on DVD you are making a huge mistake. Gangs has to be seen at the theater.
The detail and scope of the film cries out to be viewed in all its wide
screen glory. This movie is a fantastic achievement.
91 out of 119 people found the following review useful:
great filmmaking overcomes banal story, 26 January 2003
Author:
Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Finding yourself brooding over the sorry state of civilization lately?
If
so, I would strongly recommend you take a trip to `Gangs of New York' and
see how much worse things USED to be in the not too distant past. The
film
is Martin Scorcese's epic paean to the Lawlessness That Made America
Great,
a theme most often explored against a Far West backdrop, out on the open
prairie or in two-bit towns like Tombstone, Arizona or Dodge City,
Kansas.
Here it's been transferred to 1860's New York City, which in Scorcese's
vision, turns out to be a veritable Dickensian hellhole of vice and
corruption, a place teeming with rival gangsters, pickpockets, corrupt
politicians, lawbreaking policemen, and even firefighters so obsessed
with
matters of jurisdiction that they do physical battle with rival
departments
while an unattended building goes up in flames behind them. This is a
world
where life has no value and where a man's existence can be snuffed out
without so much as a by-your-leave or a single person left behind to
mourn
him. The members of these rival gangs make the Sharks and the Jets - who
would make their appearance on the same turf a full century later - look
like mere pantywaists in comparison.
Visually, the film is a masterpiece, offering some of the best
cinematography, art direction and costume design of any film released in
2002. With the help of some master craftsmen, Scorcese has created a
complete world unto itself, one that doesn't look quite like anything we
have ever seen on film before. The setting provides a stunning mixture
of
the real and the surreal, with everything from the clapboard buildings to
the foot-tall hats deriving their style from extrapolated exaggeration.
It
is truly an astonishing, eye-popping achievement.
The same cannot necessarily be said for the rest of the film, however.
Based on a story by former film critic Jay Cocks, the screenplay by
Steven
Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan and Cocks himself never quite achieves the
level
of greatness promised by the setting. The main drawback is the story
itself, which is basically just a trite revenge melodrama all gussied up
in
fancy period clothes. Leonardo DiCaprio takes center stage as Amsterdam
Vallon, a young man who, as a boy, witnessed the murder of his father at
the
hands of Bill `the Butcher' Cutting, the meanest man ever to terrorize
the
streets of this fledgling metropolis. Bill, who is an expert with knives
and other cutting instruments, is the man all the denizens of the section
of
the city known as The Five Fingers fear, and he is able to use that fear
to
make himself undisputed king of the area. After a 16-year absence,
Amsterdam returns to the scene of the crime, determined to even the score
and make Bill pay for his offense with his life.
Despite the glories of the setting, Scorcese is never able to bring the
story itself to life. Perhaps DiCaprio is just too weak and passive to
make
a very convincing foil for the hard-as-steel Bill Cutting (who seems
heavily
derived from Dickens' Bill Sikes character in `Oliver Twist,' a literary
source that never seems too far from the minds of the movie's authors).
Perhaps Daniel-Day Lewis is just too convincing in the role of villain to
make it seem like anything even close to an even match. Perhaps, too,
the
obligatory romantic plot strand involving DiCaprio with a miscast Cameron
Diaz is simply too hokey to fit into the grim tale being told here.
Whatever the reason, the core of the film turns out to be the weakest
element of `Gangs of New York.' Moreover, the dialogue is utterly banal
and uninspired, consisting mainly of syrupy platitudes and half-baked
philosophizing. Lucky for us, then, that the director has provided us
with
enough visual stimulation to keep us at least intrigued, if not quite
fascinated, throughout.
What does fascinate us, however, is all the historical detail that
permeates
the outer fringes of the story. These include the ever-present backdrop
of
the Civil War, which keeps encroaching into the world these people
inhabit,
and the anti-war riots that tore virtually all of New York City apart -
both
of which the filmmakers use as a kind of macrocosmic comment on the petty
battles and rivalries taking place in this hellish part of town. In
moments
like these, `Gangs of New York' almost touches greatness. Also of
interest
is the way in which the film highlights the fervid anti-immigration
attitude
that has so completely permeated the history of a country that, in a
bewildering paradox, has always prided itself (in theory, at least, if
not
always in practice) on being the great `melting pot' for the world's
downtrodden and disenfranchised to flock to - and the film reminds us of
how
prevalent that anti-immigrant attitude still is today in many quarters.
Truly, some things never change.
In some ways, this film might make an interesting companion piece to
Scorcese's `Casino,' in that both films deal with the theme of
lawlessness
and corruption making way for legal conformity and respectability. Each
of
these works, so distant from one another in time and place, manages to
portray the kind of epic birth pangs that cities and countries often have
to
go through before they can call themselves truly `civilized.' This theme
is, undoubtedly, what led Scorcese to compose a kind of visual ode to New
York City in his closing shot, his own personal valentine to a city that
has
suffered so much in the past few years. It is his way of saying that,
from
such squalid beginnings, New York City has grown into the great cultural
center that it is today and that it can be proud of its heritage and the
people who helped make it. After the events of 9/11, that is a very
powerful and stirring sentiment indeed.
Yes, `Gangs of New York' is a severely flawed film in a lot of ways, but
it
is also a work of vision and of almost unparalleled technical
accomplishment
that deserves to be seen. Even if there is not much here to engage the
mind
or the heart, you can always feast your eyes on the glorious visions
unfolding up there on the screen.
96 out of 129 people found the following review useful:
The Blood Stays on the Knife, 2 August 2004
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Author:
El_Guapo9 from La Crosse, Wisconsin
"Gangs of New York" takes us back to a time when America was a young country
and New York was divided. Those who felt they were "native" Americans did
not want immigrants to enter their great country, spawning hatred between
groups all over the city where many of them landed. In the story we see how
much of the town is run by one man, with William Cutting ("Bill the
Butcher," played marvelously by Daniel Day-Lewis) being the most feared and
well-respected man of the "five Points."
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Amsterdam Vallon, who as a boy watched Bill the
Butcher kill his father in one of the Points' great battles. Now a grown
man, he returns to the Points to find Bill pretty much running the show. He
gets on Bill's good side and eventually becomes his number one man, all the
while still plotting for his father's revenge.
While there is a lot of gratuitous violence and gore, the film does an
excellent job portraying life as it was in New York. You can be sucked in
to the time of the movie, and even though the setting is much before our
time you don't need a textbook to understand how things were run and what
life was like.
I've never been a big DiCaprio fan, but his effort here (along with his
performance from "Catch Me If You Can") have made my opinion start to waver
a little. He is good as Amsterdam, and believable in his actions and
expressions. Daniel Day-Lewis is simply phenomenal as Bill the Butcher and
really should have won the Best Actor Oscar. Overall, I feel this was the
best film of 2002 and really was robbed at the Academy
Awards.
8 out of 10.
160 out of 260 people found the following review useful:
Suppressed History Finally Surfaces, 2 July 2003
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Author:
RHKLWK
I am a Civil War "buff," so I wanted to see this movie the moment I heard it
was being made. Yes, the New York Draft Riots did happen, just two weeks
AFTER the Northern victory at Gettysburg, demonstrating that the outcome of
the War was anything but certain, even after Lee had been forced to retreat
to the south bank of the Potomac River. Today, many would find this
surprising.
The movie did take some license, however. There was no wholesale firing on
civilians by Union soldiers. In fact, reported deaths after three days of
rioting were less than one-hundred. Many of the dead were randomly selected
blacks, who were hanged and mutilated (which was accurately depicted in the
film). Today, many would also find this surprising, because the schools
teach that the North was good, and the South was bad. The truth is that
blacks were subjected to inhumane treatment everywhere, especially in the
Nothern cities.
There was also no firing by offshore naval vessels. That was artistic
license. (My source for all of the above is a doctoral dissertation that
was published about ten years ago titled "The New York City Draft
Riots.")
The movie makes the important point that the North had run out of "home
grown" manpower to fight the South. Had it not been for Irish and German
volunteers through 1863, and black volunteers in 1864, the North would have
sued for peace. The 1864 Democratic Platform promised to bring the War to a
swift and speedy conclusion.
Bravo to Scorsese for bringing all of this to light. In the meantime, the
movie is about twenty minutes to long. The brothel scenes, the "uptown"
scenes, and some of the scenes in the catacombs struck me as slow and
superfluous. On the other hand, the street scenes and the scenes of the
random gangs (of which I wish there were more) were glorious.
One thing Scorsese left out, however: The mountains of animal and human
waste in the streets! Not long after his movie was released, the History
Channel produced a documentary on the Five Points area, and it is staggering
to consider the tons and tons of animal and human waste piling up in the
streets, and the thousands of gallons of urine running in the gutters.
There were old photos of waste in the streets stacked six feet high.
Needless to say, infant mortality in such a fetid environment was about 50%.
Scorsese leaves this out, and there is scarcely a horse in the
movie.
Day-Lewis does a superb job with a character that is unevenly developed. He
is a homicidal thug in the beginning, a menacing, but somewhat benign,
presence in the middle, and a psychotic killer in the end. It isn't really
clear why he vacillates the way he does. Bi-polar, I guess. DiCaprio
proves he can act, and he exudes a manliness he did not possess in earlier
films. Diaz turns in a creditable performance. The cast of thousands adds
a nice touch to the film.
I would never say this is a "great" film, but it certainly is worth a look.
Kudos to Scorsese for the herculean effort, and a tip of the kepi for the
poetic ending, which reminded me of the ending in 1936's "San Francisco."
71 out of 96 people found the following review useful:
A Great Movie, Worth The Wait, 27 December 2002
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Author:
Anna (anna2@sympatico.ca) from Toronto, Canada
For about three months now, I have (on an almost daily basis) passed a
movie
theatre not far from my home. On the side of this movie theatre is a huge
poster advertising the movie "Gangs of New York". Meanwhile, all I heard
about on television was the buzz about the upcoming "Gangs of New York".
So,
when this highly publicized movie finally opened, I went and saw it.
I went to the theatre, I bought my ticket, I found a seat in a very
crowded
theatre and I sat. For three hours I sat in that dark theatre and I
watched
what was one of the most amazing movies I have ever had privilege to
see.
It is hard to even begin to explain why this movie was amazing, but it
was.
The way it was shot is brilliant. The cinematography is spectacular. The
story is completely enthralling.
Although the movie was just shy of three hours long, it was not at all
boring to watch. The story was captivating and although I knew how it was
going to end (because, after all, it is a movie based on a true-ish
story),
it was incredible to watch how it got that end.
Above all, the movie was beautiful to watch. I have to admit to those who
have not yet seen it that "Gangs" is quite violent. However, the violence
was well shot and it was fairly necessary to the story.
All of the actors put in extremely good performances. Leonardo DiCaprio
really proved that he's not just a pretty face and that he does actually
have a great deal of talent (which can also be seen in his other movie of
the season, "Catch Me If You Can"). Cameron Diaz' performace also proves
that she can do much more than the standard romantic comedy. Also, after
hearing reports of Daniel Day Lewis' REALLY getting into his character, I
admit that it was completely worth it. His character (William
Cutting/Bill
the Butcher) is so complex and although you know you hate him, you can't
decide why (for there are so many reasons).
In conclusion, if you have not seen this movie yet, go. Go now. See it.
This
is one of the epic movies of our time. I heard that Scorcese has been
conceptualizing this movie for over twenty years; I could tell. The story
this movie tells is one that I had never heard and the way in which it
was
told makes it seem very important for us to know. The message that is
conveyed, although not an entirely wholesome one, is an important one to
learn and, if considered, is very relevant to our time. However, my only
message to you is this: see this movie.
73 out of 107 people found the following review useful:
Daniel Day-Lewis: Spectacular Performance, 17 November 2005
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Author:
ccthemovieman-1 from United States
Daniel Day-Lewis elevates this film from just "good" to "very good" or
even "excellent." He is absolutely riveting, one of the most
interesting "villains" I have ever seen on film. I am sorry Day-Lewis
didn't win the Academy Award for his performance. He was just
outstanding to watch. His facial expressions alone cracked me up!
Day-Lewis played "Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting" he is one nasty dude.
However, there are no real "good guys" in this story. The supposed
hero, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a revenge-seeking man with a ton
of flaws himself. The rest of the characters are either thieves, gang
members, corrupt politicians or corrupt policeman. Ah yes, another
family-oriented film from that kindly director Martin Scorcese.
What Scorcese lacks in family values, he comes close to making up for
in style. This is another fascinating visual film with great sets,
costumes, color and camera-work. Other typical Scorcese touches are in
here: Catholic-bashing and brutal language. (I question whether the
f-word was used back in the days this film takes place.)
All in all, a tough film that could be too unpleasant to watch but for
Lewis' outstanding performance and the spectacular visuals.
70 out of 109 people found the following review useful:
The narrative and characters are weak but the general sweep and spectacle of the whole thing makes it worth a look, 25 February 2006
Author:
bob the moo
In the 1840's New York is a mess of gangs all fighting over small areas
of turf. The main rivalry is between the immigrant Irish and those who
see themselves as Natives of their New York. A battle rages between
them and the leader of the Irish (Priest Vallon) falls to the blade of
Bill "The Butcher" Cutting witnessed by Vallon's young son. Sixteen
years later and things are different but no better. Cutting is now the
head of the Five Corners and all the gangs answer to him. It is into
this situation that an unknown man called Amsterdam returns none
other than the grown son of Priest Vallon. Seeking a fitting revenge
for the death of his father, Amsterdam makes sure he catches Cutting's
sole eye and gradually is taken into his trust.
Despite lukewarm reviews I decided that any Scorsese film is worth a
look and gave GoNY a night of my time. In terms of plotting the film is
essentially a revenge drama that sees Vallon trying to get close enough
to Cutting to take him out in a fashion befitting the man. You might
rightly point out that such a straightforward tale does not require 180
minutes to tell but it does when the film tries to make this much more
of a sprawling affair that aims to bridge the cinematic gap between the
western and the gangster films while also painting a rich tapestry of
characters against a rich background of 19th Century New York. However
it fails to do this on several levels and the end result is a film that
feels a lot baggier than it really should have done. This is best seen
in the characters because none of them really develop beyond the first
impressions they give, or a better example is the failure of the film
to use Jenny in the critical way that she was clearly intended to be
used.
Scorsese may lose his way with the story but it is easy to forgive him
because he does so well with the majestic historical sweep he gives to
everything else. The sets look great, the costumes look great and the
dramatic flair he gives in delivery add so much. It is a real problem
that he has not taken the characters and story along for the ride but I
found his silver lining to be enjoyable even if his rather OTT approach
did further take away from the realism of the people and the story. His
approach is matched by the cast, who are mostly enjoyable despite
lacking depth. DiCaprio is more than the bland pinup I had feared he
would be but he can't do much more than play the "silent revenge" card
from start to finish. He is overwhelmed by Day-Lewis who has great fun
in a fantastically OTT role that worked much better than I expected him
to. Diaz is not that good and I felt she was miscast in an attempt to
get "credibility" by working with Scorsese. The support cast is roundly
good and features solid turns from Neeson, Reilly, Gleeson and many
others fill out a strong cast.
Overall this is an impressive film in terms of sweep and style but not
in terms of story and characters which is a bit of a problem in a
film that pretty much lasts three hours. The skill of Scorsese and the
presence of so many stars make it worth a look but it is hard to get
past the problems in the way that the story is not as well done as it
could have been, even if the general historical sweep and spectacle
makes it worth taking a look at.
53 out of 85 people found the following review useful:
Intense, disturbing and powerful, 4 January 2003
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Author:
Warren Murphy (murphy_wmm) from Fort McMurray, AB, Canada
Well, I just got back from seeing "Gangs of New York" at the theater, and
I
have many positive things to say about this film. It's easily the most
powerful film I've seen this year, even topping the excellent "White
Oleander". I have never seen a film portray poverty in the 1800's as well
as this film did. It also made me feel like I was there, witnessing the
poverty and brutality. It's a film that makes us be thankful that times
like those have passed, and for us not to forget those who lived and died
during those times. It's also a film that's not afraid to show war in its
total uglyness. Martin Scorsese definately got his point across with this
film, but he didn't do it alone. The cast were all excellent in their
parts, no bad acting here at all. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz
showed
they are more than just pretty faces. Daniel Day-Lewis was magnificent as
"The Butcher", a character whom you want to both love and hate. Quite
simply the best film I've seen all year, and I hope it will get nominated
(and win) many Oscars. Even if it doesn't, it's a true winner in my eyes.
Nice to see that Hollywood can actually do something useful with a
$100million budget for once. This was playing at the theater the same
time
as "The Two Towers"... unfortunately, most of the people in the long
line-up
went to see "TTT"... they sure missed out, since GONY has more to say in
the
first 10 minutes than LOTR has to say over 3 hours. Although this film is
rather long (2 hrs 47 mins), I was so provoked by it that the time flew
by.
"Gangs of New York".... A film that's not to be missed!!
10/10 - Higly reccomended!
69 out of 118 people found the following review useful:
Don't waste your dough, 8 January 2003
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Author:
(uur@earthlink.net) from San Francisco, CA
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Whatever you do, do not waste your dough on this trash. They say it's
directed by Martin Scorsese, but it was obviously directed by Kevin
Costner.
Think *WaterWorld* without the pleasant diversion of being able to look at
the ocean. Not only is it pointlessly violent (and I'm a guy who doesn't
at
all mind the occasional decapitation or disemboweling as someone is
telling
me a story), but my god is this moving BORING!
SPOILERS FOLLOW.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays a Bill Sykes-send up with a truly laughable makeup
job and an accent that's as carefree as the wind. You never really know
why
he hates Irish immigrants so much (a mere generation away from being an
immigrant himself), and you never understand why everyone in The Five
Points
slum is so loyal toward and protective of him when he does absolutely
nothing to alleviate the poverty and squalor of their senseless, miserable
lives. (Oh yeah, since his legitimate front is as a butcher, he
occasionally
throws a decent steak their way.) Don't get me started on Cameron Diaz,
The
Whore With The Heart of Gold (because THAT's a story that hasn't been told
enough) who, inexplicably is the only character in the movie with clean
teeth. Liam Neeson, who croaks before the end of the first reel, is one
lucky bastard.
After the first 20 minutes, of course, anyone not watching the movie in
Braille understands perfectly what the one and only dramatic issue is
going
to be (REVENGE!!) and you can step out for Chinese while the movie drags
its
ass toward its inevitable and tedious conclusion. Granted, *Gangs* might
have made some use of the obvious Shakespearean themes, but Scorsese
doesn't
even try to handle them. Thus, though you might entertain a flicker of
interest in the Hamletesque question of whether the son will avenge the
father, you wind up so bored w/DiCaprio that you don't freakin' care
anymore
by the time he gets around to doing the deed (which is rather done for him
before he even bothers to show up).
In fact, though Leonardo keeps staring out at you from that bland little
face and trying to convince you that he's struggling with Complex Moral
Issues, the fact is: Every single person in this movie is reprehensible
and
evil, with differences in degree but never in kind. And if there are no
good
guys, why are you supposed to be cheering at the climactic scene when (for
about the 11th time) the streets yet again run gooey w/blood and body
parts?
And yet, Scorsese tries. Toward the end of the movie, he picks up the
nearest blunt instrument and bashes away at the plot until he's grafted an
obvious hero (DiCaprio) and an irrelevant hetero love story (DiCaprio and
Diaz) onto it. In other words, Martin Scorsese has nothing but contempt
for
you. You're too stupid to realize that DiCaprio's character is a venal,
murderous little crook and you'll be mollified by a pretty romance between
him and a sociopathic pickpocket prostitute. Because the history of
America
began between the sheets.
This is the movie you'd get if Oliver Stone and Hannibal Lecter
collaborated
on an American history epic, and it's about as cynical a piece of trash as
I
hope never again to see.
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