Gangs of New York

December 24, 2002

When Gangs of New York was first announced, it seemed like such a slam dunk. Martin Scorsese and massive amounts of street violence are such the perfect pair that I couldn’t imagine this movie being bad. Still, the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz made me cock an eyebrow, and when the rumors started swirling about Harvey Weinstein throwing his weight around and asking for different cuts of the film, I pretty much lowered all my expectations. The mixed reviews for the film didn’t really help.

After actually seeing the movie (something I generally recommend doing before actually talking about the film), I was surprised to find one of the best pictures of the year. Set in Civil War era New York, Gangs of New York is about … well… the Gangs of New York. Specifically, the gangs are the “native” tribes of William “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day Lewis) and the “invading hordes” of immigrant Irish.

The movie starts with a massive bloodbath at the Five Points, where Cutting kills Priest Vallon, leader of the Dead Rabbits while Vallon’s young son Amsterdam (DiCaprio) looks on. It flashes forward and then settles into a Dumas-like revenge story about how Amsterdam grows up aching to murder the Butcher. The main plot line is fairly straightforward, but well done and very well acted. Lewis has a field day with his character and is a lock for award nominations. Cameron Diaz and DiCaprio both shed their polished charm for something earthier and pull it off well. Diaz, in particular, surprised me. Without falling back on ditzy charm or random ass-shaking, she was able to remain interesting and watchable, although not really spectacular. John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleason and Liam Neeson all turn in fine work in smaller roles.

What really takes Gangs to another level is the amount of fine historical detail Scorsese has woven into the film. The history of the place is very much part of the plot, and lets Scorsese address more than his basic characters. He gets to dip into the class structures and politics of the era, and creates a rich environment for his story to take place. This is helped by some really magnificent production, including a full size replica of the Five Points built on a studio lot in Italy.

When the tagline says “America Was Built in the Streets,” they aren’t kidding. As much as the commercials push this as a revenge film with a love triangle, it is more about our nation being built on blood, crime and exploitation. He gets to address the nation and its corruption while simultaneously getting to explore the honor and code of the street rabble.

So, yeah, Martin Scorsese and street violence. Why did I ever doubt this?

Posted in Moving Pictures