Review of Gangs of New York (2002) by Craig T — 21 Jul 2011

Martin Scorsese takes his talents for gangster drama to a rudimentary level with this American epic. He takes his gifts for engaging stories and remarkable characters and reforms them for a true tale of revenge as well as stirring look into New York City in the 1800's. Throughout the central themes, you can find so many different issues such as racism and military draft under the microscope. Scorsese had to fight it out with some big-timers to release this film as he envisioned it: long and detailed. While so many Scorsese films exhibit a groundbreaking story, Gangs takes on a different shape and instead follows two contrasting characters that are on par with some of the best in recent memory.

The natives and the Irish immigrants have long fought for street control and the territorial frenzy reaches a boiling point in the very beginning. The result is the introduction to the films protagonist (Leonardo DiCaprio) and antagonist super-villain, Bill (The Butcher) Cutting. The name just sounds bad, and he is perfectly played by the methodical Daniel Day Lewis. Leo witnesses his father killed in battle by DDL and 16 years later, revenge is drawing nearer. Taken under the wing of The Butcher, Leo finds that even though his life is looking up, he must focus on his ultimate goal: to gain all trust then cut Bill down with extreme prejudice. Despite the simple plot, the story gets clouded quickly when you throw in a love interest (Cameron Diaz in her most obviously well executed performance) and then slow betrayal by a best friend (Henry Thomas). All bets are off as the ensemble cast is radiating with purpose.

Gangs is a well shot and well told story for the most part. It lacks much (but not all of) the bite and instant classic nature that so many of Scorsese' pictures have. That may be its biggest fault, it is in a category with so many classics and masterpieces by this director that it is hard to not see it as a separate volume to the motion picture world. Daniel Day Lewis governs the whole project in my eyes. Had it not been for his presence here, the film would have surely suffered. He commands your attention and sizes your imagination. His ruthless style and demeanor earned him a great Oscar nomination and it clearly ran a close race with Adrien Brody's winning performance. This film should be recognized also for taking Leo in a different, deeper direction. Scorsese took Leo under his wing much like this story shows The Butcher do. From this vital point in his career on, his image will never be the same. He shed the good young man persona and displayed an edgy, tormented characteristic that can still be seen in him to present day. The film is very long and often that is not a negative thing but here it may have been used differently to salvage more intensity and rhythm. While not the film I hoped it to be, it is still a fine Scorsese picture and a very important film for both Daniel Day Lewis and Leonardo DeCaprio. (B).