Review of King of New York (1990) by Gregory B — 27 Sep 2015

Abel Ferrara's brilliant study of a crime lord (Christopher, y'know, Walken,) after his release from prison plays like the story of a king returning to his court, only to be aggrieved by having left nothing "good" behind.

Like "Goodfellas", which was released in the same year, "King of New York" is evocative in its cinematography, effectively uses the music of its time (in this case, a searing collection of hip hop tracks) and paints a wonderfully detailed character portrait of its protagonist, with Christopher Walken at his very best in a nuanced, compelling performance.

His fascinating, mesmeric face is often captured in close-up, as are those of the supporting players including a wonderful Laurence Fishburne in a kinetic performance which will startle those who only know him as "Morpheus" or "Jack Crawford".

At times the stylised violence feels dated and is distracting, but this is a minor criticism of an otherwise essential 90's film.