Shots Across The Bow

Gangs of New York

I've been struggling to write this review for a few days, and it hasn't been going well, but I think I just figured out the problem. I've been trying to write a serious, insightful, professional review, and that's just not my schtick. I have some serious things to say, but I just can't get into the mindset to get into the critic's voice. Now that I'm just being me, things should go better.

I was going out to see the new Bond flick with my date when for one reason or another, she decided she didn't want to be my date anymore. It was disappointing, because we enjoyed each other's company, but we were headed in different directions, and looking for different things.

Anyway, I decided instead of seeing the Bond film, I was in the mood for something a little darker, so I went to see Gangs of New York.

I'll start off by saying I'm not a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan, and nothing I saw in this movie changes that. I did gain more respect for Cameron Diaz, who adds another excellent performance to her growing list of films, belying her initial appearance as eye candy in The Mask.

Scorsese has created an epic vision of New York during the Civil War, revealing a slice of American History text books usually ignore and Hollywood usually romanticizes. He once again takes us on a journey into the dark underbelly of American culture, only this time the gangs are Irish, and uses these gangsters as a mirror for America as a whole. The story itself is trite, with DiCaprio playing Amsterdam Vallon, a young man out to avenge his father's death at the hands of Bill, "the Butcher" Cutter, played magnificently by Daniel Day Lewis. Along the way, DiCaprio falls for a beautiful pickpocket and sneak thief (Diaz), who is one of Bill's favorite mistrisses. Di Caprio worms his way into Bill's organization, and soon becomes his close confidante, positioning himself to take down Cutter. So we have revenge and a love triangle of sorts as the plots driving the film. Throw in betrayal by a jilted lover, and the cliches are complete.

The shortcomings of the plot are compounded by Scorsese's take on the history of the time. He tells us that the true birthing place of America is the slums and tenement houses of the Five Points, not the drawing rooms of high society. However, as the history behind the movie makes clear, the gang wars in New York were a tool wielded by those powdered wig aristocrats, not the other way around. The gangs were used by Boss Tweed and others to carry out their agendas, not the other way around. Any tool may turn on it's user; that doesn't mean it isn't a tool.

The strength of this movie is not in the plot or thematic material, but in the characters, which is why DiCaprio is so disappointing. Instead of seething with rage, his Amsterdam sulks and pouts like a child denied a sweet. He simply does not have the depth to pull off the complex emotions required by the part. Amsterdam sets out to destroy Cutter, but finds himself beginning to admire him, and there's reason to do so. Cutter praises Amsterdam's father, Priest Vallon, played by Liam Neeson, as a man of honor, the only man, he says, worth killing. Cutter even becomes a father figure to Amsterdam, which isn't too surprising, since there was little difference between Cutter and Priest. They both lived, fought, and died by the same rules; they were both hard men, unyielding in devotion to their principles. Although we don't see Priest Vallon for very long, we have no reason to believe he'd be any less brutal than Cutter. As Amsterdam gets closer to Bill, he becomes confused, at one point saving Bill's life from another assassin. None of this confusion ad turmoil is in DiCaprio's performance. We know of it only because he tells us in a voice over narration. A good performance would tell us what we need to know about a character without the need for a narrator.

The character of Cutter is a complex mix of brutality and intelligence, and Day-Lewis really shines in his protrayal of the man. It would be easy to make Bill totally unsympathetic, to concentrate on his brutality, but Day-Lewis instead gives a fuller portrayal of the man. He does this without lessening the brutality one bit; while we can't bring ourselves to like Bill, Like we could with Michael Corleone, we don't see him as a complete monster either. In the end, Cutter shows the purity of a true ideologue, prefering to die rather than compromise his beliefs.

Cameron Diaz shows a hard edge as the character of Jenny Everdeane, the 'turtledove' who falls for Amsterdam. She plays the role to the hilt, showing the toughness Jenny would need to survive in the hell hole of the Five Points, while still showing tenderness once she opens up to Amsterdam. You see true vulnerability when she shows her scars to Amsterdam. Sadly, we don't get anything similar from DiCaprio.

The production itself is gorgeous, as is the cinematography. Although it does take liberties with history in order to make it's point, the script is excellent, almost literary in quality. The pacing is good, except for a few scenes towards the end of the second hour that could have been tightened up a bit.

The final image of the film, the WTC standing over a decrepit graveyard where both Bill Cutter and Priest Vallon are buried, is both haunting and confusing. In two hours and firty-five minutes, Scorsese doesn't manage to give us enough information to understand what he is trying to say with this image. I thought that maybe it was just me, that I missed something, but as I look around a various reviews, there appears to be as many interpretations as there are reviewers.

Over all, I give the movie 3.5 out of 5. I was absorbed throughout the movie, despite the relative flatness of DiCaprio and the fact that I never really cared about what happened to any of the major characters was ofset by the magnificent sets, and the glimpse into a part of history usually swept under the rug.

Posted by Rich at January 24, 2003 1:35 PM