Review of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) by John P — 15 Dec 2011

Sergio Leone is best known for his westerns, and with good reason. His 'dollars' trilogy made Clint Eastwood an international celebrity and pointed the way to newer, grittier westerns. And My name is Nobody was both fitting tribute and subtle mockery of the genre. But for his final work he moved into another traditional American medium, the gangster film. It was largely overlooked, both because of its original three hour and forty minute runtime, and a pathetic theatrical version that cut it almost in half. This is a real shame, because Once Upon a Time in America is one of the best gangster movies I've seen, almost on par with the Godfather.

The film follows Noodles (Robert de Niro) a former Jewish mobster who's returned to New York after thirty-five years on the lam. He's been drawn by a cryptic message suggesting that someone knows who he is, and what he's done. While he seeks answers and catches up with old friends in the present, flashbacks take us back to the twenties, when Noodles, his buddy Max, and a couple of friends not even out of grammar school banded together to make some money, stick it to the man, and earn a name for themselves in the underworld. The flashbacks then proceed to the thirties, as the boys established themselves as some of the bigger movers and shakers in the Lower East Side, even as Max and Noodles drifted apart, leading to the tragedy that would leave one of them dead, and another on the run.

Once Upon a Time in America is by turns comic, nostalgic, and poignant. It's about how a bunch of kids with lousy home lives and no real idea what they were doing rose to the top through luck, friendship, and determination. It's about a face of New York that was gone long before this movie was made, for better and for worse. It's about the price of success and how money comes between friends. And it's about guilt and regrets for past misdeeds, and trying to make amends.

For someone born and raised in Italy, Leone has done a superb job of recreating prohibition era Manhattan. The hustle and bustle of peddlers' carts and throngs of people, the children scurrying across rooftops and down alleys, and the cops blowing their whistles and waving their batons are all captured so perfectly that it's as if the director were working from his own memories. And even though Noodles and his friends are up to their ears in shady dealings, and even though the streets are dirty and the neighborhood cop in on the take, it somehow seems simpler, almost wholesome as the boys plot, make promises, and chase girls. Part of me wishes I could have been there.

But of course there's nothing wholesome about what they're doing, or what it's doing to them. Within a few years these boys have grown up to become hardened killers. There are murders, beatings, two rapes, and a scene where they nearly set a man on fire before finding out that their organization has switched sides and now he's their friend. Plus there's a death so gruesome it can only be hinted at. And most of this is before the betrayals start and everything comes crashing down.

In the present, most of the scenes have a melancholy air, as Noodles walks through a changed city, one that has just enough resemblance to the one he knew to bring back painful memories of choices he made, and opportunities he lost. And when the answers to his questions arrive, it only brings more heartache as we discover that the lies and betrayals ran deeper and in more directions than he knew.

The script is phenomenal, the production values sterling, and the acting truly exceptional. De Niro does some of the best work of his long career, bringing Noodles to life both as a young, ruthless gangster, and a tired, regretful old man. The make-up artists also deserve great accolades for their abilities to age the main characters more than thirty years. In the later scenes, de Niro looks almost exactly as he does today. And I would be remiss if I didn't praise the work of the child actors, particularly Jennifer Connelly as Deborah, Noodles childhood sweetheart.

Once Upon a Time in America is a film that should be seen by any fan of the genre, or the director. It's grand, complex, and deals with the full range of human desires and emotions. It's a real shame that it isn't more widely known.