| Gangs
of New York, Martin Scorsese's newest film, is a sprawling,
massive, deeply involving and bloody piece of cinema. It
evokes both the time, the mid-nineteenth century, and the
place, Manhattan's crime-ridden Five Points, with a stark
realism that is both awe-inspiring and unnerving.
Simultaneously, it tells an emotionally delving story about
the people who lived there. It is about people who lived
in a tumultuous time and what they believed in, loved, hated,
fought for, and died for.
The film has a quite an interesting history. The idea for
it first came to Scorsese more than thirty years ago. When
he was house-sitting for a friend, he came upon Herbert
Asbury's "The Gangs of New York". Scorsese was
enraptured by it and inspired to make a film on the subject.
In 1977 he took out a two page ad in Variety magazine announcing
that his next feature would be Gangs of New York. But, Scorsese
then made another film, was sidetracked by a drug addiction,
and Gangs of New York slipped from the forefront of his
agenda.
Finally, in 1999, Miramax said they would be willing to
produce it. They allotted roughly 88 million dollars for
the project. The film went over budget, with some estimates
placing it as high as 115 million. Scorsese kicked half
of his 6 million salary back into the film, and the film's
star, Lenardo DiCaprio, contributed 4 million. Scorsese
even did a commercial for a French telecommunications company
to supplement the film's budget. It was originally scheduled
for release in Christmas of 2001, but it didn't seem appropriate
to release it in the wake of the September 11th tragedy,
due to the film's subject matter of immigration and xenophobia.
Between Christmas of 2001 and December 20th, 2002, when
it was actually released, Scorsese was constantly editing
it, and got involved in a heated argument with Miramax over
the film's length. Some cuts of the film were as long as
3 hours and 44 minutes, but it was edited down for release
to 2 hours and 48 minutes.
At the beginning of Gangs of New York, two gangs meet and
battle for control of Manhattan's notorious Five Points.
The Dead Rabbits, the Irish Immigrant gang lead by Priest
Vallon, face off against the nativists, the anti-immigrant
gang lead by Bill the Butcher. In the battle, Bill kills
Vallon, as Vallon's son looks on. 16 years later, Vallon's
son, calling himself Amsterdam, is released from an orphanage
and returns to the Five
Points to take revenge on Bill the Butcher.
The actors in this film do a stunning job. Leonardo DiCaprio
does not look like Leonardo DiCaprio anymore. His pretentious,
pretty-boy persona from 1997's abysmal "Titanic"
is gone. He proves himself here as being quite a good actor.
Cameron Diaz plays Jenny Everdean, a pickpocket, who is
also Vallon's love interest. She looks pretty and innocent,
but her outer shell hides a defiant, strong-willed individual.
Both who she is and her history with other characters is
intriguing. The most magnificent performance, however, is
by far Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher. He steals every
scene he's in and even when he's off camera his presence
is still felt. He also has some amazing lines, and an extraordinary
monologue. Day-Lewis's performance is one of the most amazing
of recent memory.
Gangs of New York masterfully evokes the time period in
which it is set. The Five Points are beautifully recreated
in all its filth and blood. Violence erupts in a heartbeat.
Votes for elections are bought, or made under threat of
violence. It is a miracle that a decent society ever emerged
from this. Historical details are also brought to light.
The Civil War Draft riots are shown, where the poor rose
up against the rich, because they could not pay the $300
to escape the draft. The Riot lasted a week and more than
2,000 people died. It is the largest riot in American History.
Racism is also pivotal to the times portrayed. Blacks are
often singled out and lynched during the riots and racial
slurs and violence abounds. Bill is a man built on the hatred
of immigrants. Everywhere, the film reminds us of our dark
history.
The politics of the time are represented by the wholly revolting
Boss Tweed. Tweed is dirty, corrupt, and uses gangs to enforce
his will. "The appearance of the law must be upheld",
he says "especially when it's being broken."
In this grand scale and spectacle, Gangs of New York achieves
intimacy with its characters. They are fully fleshed out,
complex people with histories, moral and emotional quirks,
and unique in motivations for what they do. While watching
it I got a sense of how these people thought and who they
were, yet the film does not set its characters into molds.
It challenges our perceptions of them and oftentimes the
reasoning behind their actions is left in doubt.
Gangs of New York was shot in Rome where the Five Points
was recreated in a studio. The sets themselves encompassed
more than a square mile. Hardly anything in this film is
done by computers. Most everything was really there, and
built by hand. The costumes are also very well done (Bill
the Butcher wears a stovepipe hat reminiscent surpassing
Abe Lincoln). Nearly every shot in this film flourishes
with detail, and there is always a great deal to look at
and notice.
In many movies, the camera is used simply to show what is
going on. In Gangs, the camera takes an active role in telling
the story. In one absolutely breathtaking shot the camera
follows Irish immigrants getting off a boat coming into
America. It follows them as they are given citizenship,
as they enlist in the draft and are given a uniform and
gun, and finally as they line up to get on a ship where
the coffins of dead soldiers are being taken off in one
long shot. It is very well edited which gives its storytelling
a more dramatic punch. In one scene the camera cuts to three
different people thanking god and asking for victory before
they are all consumed by violence.
Gangs of New York is one of the most compelling films I
have ever seen. Gangs has a very raw, visceral, and unpolished
edge to it. It abounds with director Martin Scorsese's manic
zeal for filmmaking.
In this day and age, films like Gangs of New York are all
but dying. Computers and digital imaging have taken over,
and large sweep dramas are growing increasingly uncommon.
Gangs is in some ways the last hurrah for the old style
of filmmaking. It has massive sets, spectacle, a huge scope,
and a "cast of thousands". It is one of the most
amazing films I have ever seen. I encourage everyone to
see it, because you probably won't get a chance to see anything
like it for a long time, if ever. |
