Mean Streets - Domenica in chiesa, lunedì all'inferno

Scorsese's first film, the interesting catastrophe "Boxcar Bertha," marked his birth as a director, but it was with his second feature, "Mean Streets" that we witnessed the birth of an artist. Most of "Mean Streets" is slightly unfocused with a simplistic plot based around a lot of machismo grandstanding and long bouts of boring dialog (occasionally made interesting by DeNiro's off-kilter star-making turn as Johnny-Boy), with spats of visceral violence (far less gory here than in later Scorcese pics), and a visual bravado that seems slightly less disciplined but no less entertaining than your standard Scorsese crime flick.

Despite its drawbacks (mainly due to youth and inexperience), the template was set. The opening credits (done to the tune of "Be My Baby") suck you right into the film, and the rest of the movie is peppered with Scorsese's loving treatment of popular music that would later become one of his most endearing hallmarks. The basic premise featuring Harvey Keitel as Charlie (the young hood with a heart of gold and conflicted internally by the religion of the Church and the religion of the Streets), Robert DeNiro as Johnny-Boy (the equally loved and hated loose-canon brother figure), and Amy Robinson as Theresa (the woman our hero wants to put on a pedestal as a saint but often treats like a whore), is a trifecta of archetypes we see repeated again and again in Scorsese's films (most obviously in "Casino" with the DeNiro-Pesci-Stone characters, and most subversively in "The Last Temptation of Christ" with Jesus-Judas-Mary Magdalene). The religious iconography, the brotherhood of crooks, the attraction to the gangster lifestyle, the keen eye for depicting violence in artistic and startling ways...these are displayed here in "Mean Streets" in their rawest form.

Though flawed in many ways, "Mean Streets" set the stage and laid the the template for the type of film Scorsese would perfect seventeen years later with "Goodfellas." This heralded the arrival of a new talent and a new genre, and the world of film has thankfully never been the same.

Like the Irishman long after it, Mean Streets is a gangster film that hones in on the mundanity of it all. The violence is pretty nasty when it happens but for the most part, focusing on the everyday life of these low level gangsters and their struggles in recognisably Scorsese fashion is this film's greatest strength.

Harvey Keitel leads the film with an inner turmoil that's great to witness. Overall, it's a very restrained performance which works so well since he's repressing all of his troubles. Seeing Robert De Niro in a role like this really shows how far he's come as this volatile and juvenile performance is almost unrecognizably him.

As director, co-writer and co-editor, Martin Scorsese has a fully formed vision. His usual themes are present, the editing mostly has the rhythm of his later work and New York is definitely a character in itself. Another signature trait of his work are the needle drops and there's a terrific selection of them on display in this.

The first time that Robert De Niro appears up-close in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets is to the tune of the Rolling Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash. It's from this point forward that the movie leaves the realm of being a 'good film' and becomes 'one of the greatest films of all time.' Simply put, the energy of Mean Streets is fantastic. De Niro's flamboyant entrance is one of many iconic moments in the film, which has influenced just about every crime film made since – for good reason.

And yet ironically Mean Streets is rarely acknowledged as the masterpiece that it is, perhaps because a number of people actually forget about it. Everyone remembers Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and GoodFellas in particular, but Scorsese's breakthrough remains one of his most important and honest pieces of work, given little recognition apart from the praise by movie critics who do remember it.

Harvey Keitel, giving one of his most realistic and three-dimensional performances of all-time, plays the lonely and worried Charlie, a 20-something New York City Catholic who is haunted by his friend, Johnny Boy (De Niro), the local loner who has to jump off the sides of streets in order to dodge the local Mafia thugs he owes money to.

Mean Streets has been accused of lacking a point, and one critic calls it 'too real,' but I'd take this over most recent films any day of the week. Mean Streets doesn't have a dynamic arc like most motion pictures do – sure, there's the rising action leading up to the climax, but it doesn't move from one frame to another trying to figure out the easiest way to end the movie while managing to stress all its points in such a manner so blatant that a four-year-old could pick up the themes.

It respects its audience enough to study its characters in such a way that they are given ten times as much depth as those seen in modern films released through Hollywood. As Johnny Boy, De Niro paints the ultimate portrait of a typical street loner – a dumb kid who 'borrows money from everyone and never pays them back.' Charlie, much smarter and wiser, takes Johnny under his wing and tries to help him get a job, so that he can pay back what he owes to a local kingpin. However, Johnny is so irresponsible and stupid that he doesn't show up for work and begins fighting with the mob – leading up to an inescapable conclusion that features some very ancient themes colliding together. It's the classic tale of redemption and escaping one's past, and if the film has a point it is that some people can't change and you'll get what's coming to you, even if you've got other people helping you out.

The film does have its technical flaws, such as poor dubbing, inconsistency, and the occasional goof. It's a raw movie, filmed on a low budget by a young and far more naïve Martin Scorsese. But all his typical elements are in place, to be expanded upon later in his career.

Keitel and De Niro are superb, particularly De Niro who shows great range very early on in his career. Almost unrecognizable in shabby clothing, hats and a scrawny figure to boot, this is a role that would typically be more suitable for Christopher Walken or other charismatic character actors – but De Niro pulls off the role with intense talent, proving once again that he can handle any type of role. He's known for his psychotic roles, but in Mean Streets, he plays the opposite of Travis Bickle. Johnny Boy isn't unstable or psychopathic – he's just wild and stupid.

Keitel channels all the thoughtful consciousness of an older child, considering Johnny Boy to be a brother of sorts. He feels that if he fails Johnny, he will somehow fail himself.

Mean Streets is a careful character study that never resorts to cardboard cutout caricatures or the standard clichés of the genre. Dialogue does not exist to move action forward towards the next adrenaline-packed sequence; Mean Streets focuses on its inhabitants with such strong emotional power that it's impossible not to be caught up in its grasp. A true classic from start to finish, and undeniably a very moving film.

Martin Scorsese has made some brilliant movies in his life, but unfortunately this isn't one of them. I can't really call it bad, because the direction and the cinematography just drip with pure talent, but I have some major problems with the plot. Mainly, where the hell is it? The story doesn't just move at a slow pace, it appears to go in incredibly tiring loops. It starts of with Johnny Boy (a solid Robert DeNiro) owing a whole bunch of crooks money, which is a pretty riveting starting point. What does he do about it? What do the crooks do about it? Nothing, and that goes on for two hours. The whole movie appears to be Harvey Keitel endlessly saying he has to pay his debts, to which he refuses, to which he asks it again half an hour later, to which he like, makes up an excuse and goes to the movies, and all of it feels so redundant. The movie finally gets to the point in the end, but that doesn't really save it. It shows the sadness of the bad neighbourhoods in New York wonderfully, but that's really all I can say about it.

Charlie may be small time but the authority and standing of his Uncle Giovanni in the community of Little Italy offers him the chance to become more than just a local hustler. One of the things he should be careful of is the company he keeps and who he stands with. Unfortunately Charlie is very protective of his cousin Johnny Boy, who seems determined to borrow as much money as possible, gamble it away and not pay it back and also in a relationship with Johnny's relation Teresa. While the fun and energy of the street life continues, dark consequences of all these things threaten Charlie and those around him.

It has been years since I saw this film and I noticed that I had last watched it before I started reviewing. As a result I watched it again yesterday to refresh my memory. Seeing it with older eyes is an impressive experience because I appreciate what Scorsese has gone on to do and found it fascinating to look back on this, one of his earliest films. The plot is a mash of characters and events that come together to create a sense of place that is convincingly done; the overall narrative focuses on Charlie, in particular where his relationships are taking him but this aspect ebbs and flows with the events. It is funny, violent, personal and engaging, only a few aspects come over as weak. The script flows like real dialogue, producing the different moods of each scene and also being memorable and rough.

The style and direction of the film are impressive and it is interesting to see the influence Scorsese had with this and his other films. The techniques employed here will ring bells with anyone who watches modern cinema and television with more than a passing interest, Sopranos in particular owes him a debt. Here we have the slow-motions, chest-mounted camera (I'm sure there is a proper name for it), impressive use of music and so on that we have come to be used to with Scorsese and one cannot help be impressed by how well developed these ideas were at an early stage in his career. Of course along with stylistic constants, several of the cast would become regulars. Keitel is the heart of the film for me and, although his opportunities in the script are surprisingly limited, I felt he did well with the themes handed to him. De Niro of course catches the eye more because of what was to come but also because he has the more energetic character. Robinson didn't make much of an impression on me but the support cast features early turns from faces such as Proval, Romanus, Argo and others.

Mean Streets might be a bit rough and ready when placed next to the polished films that Scorsese would go on to do but it does not take away from its strengths to look back at it. So much of Scorsese's style and calling cards are in place even at this early stage and his film convincingly creates the streets and characters of the place. The main players involved have done better films since this one but it is still strong, stylish and interesting and definitely worth a look for anyone who has since any other Scorsese films.