Gangs of New York

Gangs Of New York is a solid action crime drama from director Martin Scorcese who continues to show his skill as a filmmaker with this film. The cast are admirable in their roles including Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, and Cameron Diaz. DiCaprio is great as Amsterdam Vallon a man seeking revenge against the one who killed his father. DiCaprio may not have the flashier role like Day Lewis but he's still believable as the hero bringing that intensity he's been know for to the character. Daniel Day Lewis gives a knock out performance as Billy "The Butcher" Cutting a psychotic gangland kingpin who killed Amsterdams father. Day Lewis is terrific in the role of a man whose willing to kill anyone without hesitation. The people are either with him or against him there is no middle ground. Cameron Diaz is good as Jenny Everdeane a woman willing to do almost anything to survive and a potential love interest for DiCaprio's Amsterdam. John C Reilly, Jim Broadbent, Bredan Gleason, Henry Thomas, and a brief appearance by Liam Neeson are effective as the supporting characters but most of them don't have much to do and aren't in it much either. All of them still turn in solid performances none the less in their limited screen time. Most of the movie takes place in New York during 1863 when one of the worst riots in American history took place. The fact that this really did happen gave the movie a realistic fool especially the location where they chose to have this film take place giving audiences a look at what it could've been like back then in New York. The action sequences which mostly involve people getting beat up in brutal ways are well executed especially the riots at the end. The showdown between Amsertdam and Bill was a bit of a letdown but it was fitting for the movie. The film was a bit long with a running time of 167 minutes. The pacing was a little slow at times but the performances by the cast make it worth watching anyway. Despite some flaws Gangs Of New York is still a well made crime drama with enough action, some suspense, a little humor and romance. So if you can get past the long running time Gangs Of New York is definitely worth watching and most of that besides what I already mentioned is because of the exceptional performances (especially Day Lewis and DiCaprio) by the lead actors and the amazing talent of Scorcese who continues to prove himself as a gifted filmmaker with this movie. Well done.

In the 1840's New York is a mess of gangs all fighting over small areas of turf. The main rivalry is between the immigrant Irish and those who see themselves as Natives of their New York. A battle rages between them and the leader of the Irish (Priest Vallon) falls to the blade of Bill "The Butcher" Cutting – witnessed by Vallon's young son. Sixteen years later and things are different but no better. Cutting is now the head of the Five Corners and all the gangs answer to him. It is into this situation that an unknown man called Amsterdam returns – none other than the grown son of Priest Vallon. Seeking a fitting revenge for the death of his father, Amsterdam makes sure he catches Cutting's sole eye and gradually is taken into his trust.

Despite lukewarm reviews I decided that any Scorsese film is worth a look and gave GoNY a night of my time. In terms of plotting the film is essentially a revenge drama that sees Vallon trying to get close enough to Cutting to take him out in a fashion befitting the man. You might rightly point out that such a straightforward tale does not require 180 minutes to tell but it does when the film tries to make this much more of a sprawling affair that aims to bridge the cinematic gap between the western and the gangster films while also painting a rich tapestry of characters against a rich background of 19th Century New York. However it fails to do this on several levels and the end result is a film that feels a lot baggier than it really should have done. This is best seen in the characters because none of them really develop beyond the first impressions they give, or a better example is the failure of the film to use Jenny in the critical way that she was clearly intended to be used.

Scorsese may lose his way with the story but it is easy to forgive him because he does so well with the majestic historical sweep he gives to everything else. The sets look great, the costumes look great and the dramatic flair he gives in delivery add so much. It is a real problem that he has not taken the characters and story along for the ride but I found his silver lining to be enjoyable even if his rather OTT approach did further take away from the realism of the people and the story. His approach is matched by the cast, who are mostly enjoyable despite lacking depth. DiCaprio is more than the bland pinup I had feared he would be but he can't do much more than play the "silent revenge" card from start to finish. He is overwhelmed by Day-Lewis who has great fun in a fantastically OTT role that worked much better than I expected him to. Diaz is not that good and I felt she was miscast in an attempt to get "credibility" by working with Scorsese. The support cast is roundly good and features solid turns from Neeson, Reilly, Gleeson and many others fill out a strong cast.

Overall this is an impressive film in terms of sweep and style but not in terms of story and characters – which is a bit of a problem in a film that pretty much lasts three hours. The skill of Scorsese and the presence of so many stars make it worth a look but it is hard to get past the problems in the way that the story is not as well done as it could have been, even if the general historical sweep and spectacle makes it worth taking a look at.

Gangs of New York was is an epic historical crime movie directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendon Gleeson, Stephen Graham and Liam Neeson in a special appearance.

The movie is a must watch classic which displays the birth of America and yes through bloody violence and brawls.

The movie displays the greatnesses of Martin Scorsese and his imagination and scope to take out the best from a simple revenge plot.

Acting should be appreciated by all the characters but Daniel Day-Lewis steals the show by his brutal violence in a gentle way.

The screenplay of the movie is slow but captivating and hold the viewers. Location of 1840 America is amazing and background music is good. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this is one of the finest piece of work by Martin Scorsese and a must watch for the viewers who like periodic movies.

It's so true what people say, that Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't act. He *becomes* the characters he portrays. It's simply astounding to see an interview with the soft-spoken, somewhat effeminate actor and then watch him as the terrifying, dominating Butcher in this, or Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. Watch Gangs of New York for his performance alone and you won't be disappointed. That isn't to say the story isn't intriguing (it is) or Leo isn't good (he is) but really, Day-Lewis stole the show outright.

"Gangs of New York" takes us back to a time when America was a young country and New York was divided. Those who felt they were "native" Americans did not want immigrants to enter their great country, spawning hatred between groups all over the city where many of them landed. In the story we see how much of the town is run by one man, with William Cutting ("Bill the Butcher," played marvelously by Daniel Day-Lewis) being the most feared and well-respected man of the "five Points."

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Amsterdam Vallon, who as a boy watched Bill the Butcher kill his father in one of the Points' great battles. Now a grown man, he returns to the Points to find Bill pretty much running the show. He gets on Bill's good side and eventually becomes his number one man, all the while still plotting for his father's revenge.

While there is a lot of gratuitous violence and gore, the film does an excellent job portraying life as it was in New York. You can be sucked in to the time of the movie, and even though the setting is much before our time you don't need a textbook to understand how things were run and what life was like.

I've never been a big DiCaprio fan, but his effort here (along with his performance from "Catch Me If You Can") have made my opinion start to waver a little. He is good as Amsterdam, and believable in his actions and expressions. Daniel Day-Lewis is simply phenomenal as Bill the Butcher and really should have won the Best Actor Oscar. Overall, I feel this was the best film of 2002 and really was robbed at the Academy Awards.

8 out of 10.