Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
‘Powerful Period Piece’
“Gangs of New York” is directed by Martin Scorsese. Its script is written by Jay Cocks, Steve Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The screenplay is based off a story by Jay Cocks. This film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, and Liam Neeson. Its plot is set in 1863 New York City. Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to the Five Points area seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), his father’s killer. “Gangs of New York” was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Martin Scorsese has always been known as a masterful filmmaker. He is a perfectionist when it comes to making extraordinary movies. Scorsese directs this film with sparks of brilliance. Since it is set in the 1800s, the costume and production design is magnificent and truly brings back history in an interesting way. The cinematography is nothing short of outstanding and captures the feel of the time period. The story, however, is more of a revenge tale than a proper history lesson. Regardless of that, this film has enough redeeming qualities that make it worth a watch.
Leonardo DiCaprio is great as Amsterdam Vallon. He isn’t amazing; just decent enough to be a likeable character. Cameron Diaz is gorgeous but weak as Jenny Everdeane. She is undeniably beautiful, but nothing great in a sense that she has acted better in other movies. Both these stars are ousted by Daniel Day-Lewis’s fantastic performance. Day-Lewis is stunning as Bill the Butcher. He captures the character’s intentions very well and demonstrates them through his electrifying screen-presence. Day-Lewis completely deserved the Academy Award nomination he got for this film. It’s a powerful reminder of an actor whose charisma will forever be sorely missed from Cinema. The rest of the cast including Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, and Liam Neeson are good in their small but effective performances.
It’s messy and flawed, but “Gangs of New York” is still worth watching. The film’s biggest flaws are the very poor script and a long running time. The 2 1/2 hour running time resulted in some scenes being relevant and others worthless. If the editing would have been slightly better, this film could have been more effective. Nonetheless, this is still recommended for anyone interested in America’s history.
3.5/5 stars
The Film Buff 