Review of Gangs of New York (2002) by Stuart K — 17 Jan 2012
A pet project for Martin Scorsese, who had been working on this since the mid 1970's, but could never get the funding. But he did, and he got an all star cast to boot. While the project is an overlong mess, it's still a very good piece of entertainment with some staggering sets and camerawork.
New York, 1862. Orphan Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been in the orphanage for 16 years, after his father Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), leader of the Irish gang The Dead Rabbits, was killed at the hands of Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), leader of The Natives.
In order to bring Bill the Butcher down, Amsterdam has to infiltrate Bill's gang, which he does with the help of Johnny Sirocco (Henry Thomas). But, as Amsterdam plots his revenge on Bill, the more he comes to respect him, but he finds himself falling for pickpocket Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), who was and still is attracted to Bill.
But, tensions are growing within the slums of the city, with more Irish immigrants coming in, it puts politician Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent), who is in league with Bill, at a disadvantage, and a full blown riot is imminent.
Even with a 2 hour 40 minute length, it's a fast and furious film, almost going by a little too fast, with no time to breathe. Even if alot of the acting is hammy, (especially Day-Lewis), and there is a alot of blood.
It's a great depiction of early America in all it's blood-soaked glory, and Scorsese has good support from John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, David Hemmings and Stephen Graham.
This review of Gangs of New York (2002) was written by Stuart K on 17 Jan 2012.
Gangs of New York has generally received very positive reviews.
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