Review of Mean Streets (1973) by Kanwar A — 19 Nov 2009
"You don't make up for your sins in church; you do it in the streets; you do it at home. The rest is bulls--t, and you know it.".
One of my favorite lines from easily one of my top 5 favorite Martin movies. Mean Streets is a gritty tale about a low rent thug trying to get his life figured out in Little Little Italy. Charlie(Harvey Keitel)is a man that has clearly lived a troubled life and tries to make some peace with himself by looking after Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro). Charlie tries to help Johnny out of debt that he owes to some loan sharks. Much to the dismay of his girlfriend, Charlie just can't seem to sort out his priories and leave his way of life on the streets.
The movie isn't overly driven by a plot. Instead it mostly focuses on the struggles of the people trapped in this way of life. It's one of Martin's most raw movies, but it's easy to see this movie is at least somewhat personal. I'm glad that he made it because it's a terrific movies that for me nearly stands next to Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Raging Bull.
This review of Mean Streets (1973) was written by Kanwar A on 19 Nov 2009.
Mean Streets has generally received very positive reviews.
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