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Whatever you may say about Martin Scorcese, you have to admit
that he is a director with vision and passion. These two qualities
are evident in this long nurtured epic project about the early
days of his favourite city. Throw in some great acting and you
have a powerful movie that only stops short of being 'great'
due to some weaknesses in the final screenplay.
Leonardo DiCaprio re-asserts his claim to "A-list"
status here as Amsterdam Vallon, a young man who has spent 16
years harbouring a slow burning lust for vengeance after witnessing
(as a young child) the killing of his father (Liam Neeson).
The object of this emotion is William Cutter (Daniel Day-Lewis),
otherwise known as Bill the Butcher, the leader of a gang /
political organisation with the somewhat hypocritical aim of
ridding America of its increasingly large immigrant population.
Along the way, Amsterdam gets mixed up with the likes of Jenny
Everdeane (Cameron Diaz) - a beautiful pickpocket, Johnny Sirocco
(Henry 'ET' Thomas) - the awkward jealous buddy, and Monk McGinn
(Brendan Gleeson) - the respectable man about town with a battle
club hanging behind his door. All of this is set against the
backdrop of the American Civil War and the impending implementation
of compulsory military conscription.
As a tale of love and revenge, this film is ordinary. The story
does not flow consistently to a climactic face-off in the way
you might expect and Diaz's compulsory love interest character
is a complete waste of time (would the story have been any different
with her? Not really). What Scorcese has achieved, however,
is a brilliant portrayal of his view of a critical period in
the history of New York where a few pivotal events (the Civil
War, the Draft riots, even the Irish potato famine) helped shape
the city that he calls home. To this end, the story is of somewhat
secondary importance. The sets (all built in Rome of all places
- no computer generated special effects here) are stunning and
some of the set pieces are breathtaking, including some graphic
battle scenes.
Most of the acting is first rate. DiCaprio smoulders the way
he does best (even if his accent wavers about a bit) and there
is great support from character actors such as Gary 'Billy Elliott's
Dad' McCormack, John C. Reilly, Gleeson, and Jim Broadbent.
But the real star here is Day-Lewis. Enticed from semi-retirement,
his work here is outstanding. His self-confident yet emotionally
unstable tyrant dominates the screen without ever going over
the top in the way that it surely would in the hands of a lesser
actor.
All in all , there is plenty to enjoy here. Ignore the plot
holes, and instead soak up the atmosphere, the history, and
Day-Lewis. And watch out for the inevitable 'Five Points' guided
tour next time you visit the Big Apple.
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