Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as an Irish-American who seeks revenge on the brutal leader of 1800's New York, Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), who killed his father.
Liked
Strong performances, especially Day-Lewis.
Disliked
Slow pace, lack of heart.
Thoughts
Not one of Martin Scorsese's best.
The best parts were the acting. As expected DiCaprio and Day-Lewis were cool. However, in hindsight, we now realize that his Bill the Butcher wasn't much different than Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood. Having said that, his guttural screams rocked. Surrounding them were a plethora of quality performances from Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, and Jim Broadbent. While John C. Reilly and Cameron Diaz didn't suck, their performances just paled compared to everyone else's game.
It definite was an interesting take on Civil War-era New York. I'm not familiar with that part of history, so I'm uncertain how much liberty Scorsese took with the story, but it felt like a lot. I enjoyed the menagerie of different cultures mashed together in a "hot furnace" of hate and violence as a contrast to our current level of racial civility in America.
When I watch a Scorsese film, I expect some crazy cool cinematography. And there was a really poignant elongated one-take of immigrants coming off the boat, only to be hustled onto boats Dixie-line bound, while coffins are unloaded simultaneously. However, as a whole I found it to be his least memorable movie, from a visual standpoint.
There were other flaws. Its sloth-like pace exacerbated by its lengthy runtime. I never found any of the characters likable enough to follow. Lastly, the climax was rather anti-climactic, as it got sideswiped by another event. I think he meant to have that event add fuel to the fire, but all it did was distract the audience from following the main plot.
Gangs of New York was a disappointment, given Scorsese's record. If you're a big fan of his, or of Day-Lewis, then it's probably worth a watch. If not, you're not missing out on much.
