Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
In one of Martin Scorsese's first films, Harvey Keitel stars as an Italian-American gangster in New York who's volatile cousin, played by Robert De Niro, escalates their lives.
Liked
The historical impact of watching Keitel, De Niro, and Scorsese.
Disliked
Lack of story, weird editing.
Thoughts
Not bad for Scorsese's first foray into the crime drama genre.
You could see the seeds of greatness being planted in this film. Keitel and De Niro stood out among the cast. I couldn't help but envision the future Jimmy Conway and Travis Bickle in De Niro's unstable portrayal.
Likewise, the early stages of Scorsese's visual mastery was recognizable. There were some interesting, elaborate long takes, strong command of "old school" rock and R & B music to enhance a scene, and loving care of cityscapes. One shot that really stood out was Keitel in a bodycam (actor wears a chest rig with camera mounted and pointed at actor's face) as he drunkenly walks through a party in a bar and passes out. I checked if this was the first time this kind of shot was used, but turns out it was used as early as Psycho (which I don't recall).
I liked the authentic feel in the dialog. It definitely made me feel like I was eavesdropping on this specific set of crooks. Another thing I liked was the introspectives into Keitel's mind, as his voiceover hits on themes of Catholism and the world his lived in.
However, I found the film as a whole to be overrated. The story left much to be desired, as it just meandered around with the characters for a good 90 minutes, with the obvious foreshadowing that De Niro will blow everything up. While I enjoyed De Niro and Keitel, I had trouble telling the other gangsters apart.
Another thing that stood out was weird edit jump cuts. Jump cuts can be stylish story-telling, but I don't think that was the case here. For example, there's a scene where Keitel chases De Niro down the street in a wide shot, suddenly it jumps to De Niro up against a wall, in a completely different angle. It felt like they missed a shot to connect the two shots together in a less disorienting fashion.
Mean Streets was interesting to watch, to see the greatness to come, especially from Scorsese and De Niro. But as a stand alone crime drama, the lack of story-telling couldn't make up for the strong performances and promising visuals.
