Review of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) by Tomas T — 04 Aug 2012

The Italian director Sergio Leone is known for his excellent westerns: Spaghetti Western trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West. After long-standing commitment to westerns, the director chose to step outside his comfort zone and make an epic crime film Once Upon a Time in America. The film initially received mixed reception but has since been justly acknowledged as a great contribution for crime film genre.

The story of Once Upon a Time in America spans almost 50 years starting from the 20's, a decade renown for total ban of alcohol - the Prohibition - in America. It was an era where smuggling and production of alcohol ran rampant and led to the rise of American gangsters such as the Al Capone and others. Thus the 20's offer a perfect setting for a crime film where David 'Noodles' Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz (James Woods), two poor jewish boys struggle to survive in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Once Upon a Time in America tells how Noodles and Max rise to prominence in New York criminal world in epic 3h 39min film of friendship, love, lust and betrayal.

It is tempting to compare Once Upon a Time in America with the all time mafia classic The Godfather, but in truth the films only share the theme together. Where The Godfather depicts the Italian mafiosos in romanticed manner with straightforward storyline, Once Upon a Time in America offers a more realistic depiction of the 20's with a complex plot spread over four decades. The other striking difference is where The Godfather offers charming and easy to relate to characters, Once Upon a Time in America's characters are in comparison deeply flawed and overall challenging to like. Bit controversially it is the way Leone presents these flawed characters which make Once Upon a Time in America so compelling. Some of the scenes and character actions can be considered down right repulsive, but they do manage to depthen the characters in ways which few films can match.

The fact that Once Upon a Time in America's story is spread over long period of time and contains multiple parallel angles adds up complexity. Thankfully Leone masterfully keeps this gargantual film together and in retrospect it really shows that the film was over 10 years in the making. The end result is polished and highly engaging piece of cinematography which is guaranteed to make a permanent impression on the viewer.