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| Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reily, Liam Neeson. Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan. Studio: Miramax Films Rated: R (for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity, and language) Runtime: 2 hours 48 minutes Year: 2002 Let me put it this way, I was dying to see Gangs Of New York ever since the first trailer appeared close to two years ago. With a fantastic cast and a trailer that was action packed, it became one of my must see films of 2001. Then the terrorist attacks happened and this movie was pushed back a full year from its original release date, and it became one of the must see films of 2002. And now its 2003 and I'm finally seeing the epic motion picture that director Martin Scorsese has had in production for going on twenty years. And I loved it. Typically, when a movie is pushed back for a long period of time, it either means that it needs more work, it is terrible, or real events come too close to what is in the film. This movie was and should have been postponed because of the latter, and for a good reason, considering that the movie not only features a shot of the World Trade Center, but also New York being bombed and left in ruins. The movie portrays all New Yorkers as savages, so there really is no good or bad guy. All the characters are bad, in their own way. This is a good way of making a movie because it leaves the viewer torn on who to root for. The story of this movie begins in 1846, when two gangs have come together for an all-out battle. Leading the gang of the native New Yorkers is the notorious William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), also called Bill The Butcher. Leading the gang of Irish immigrants is Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). When the two gangs come together in battle, Bill kills Priest in plain view of Vallon's son Amsterdam, who is taken and thrown into an orphanage. Amsterdam now only has one thing on his mind. Revenge. Fast forward to 1863, where New York has become a brutal city where its every man from himself. The mayor is Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent), but the real leader of New York is none other than Bill. But what Bill doesn't know is that Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) has grown up and come back to the city seeking vengeance. Following him in his quest is old childhood friend Johnny (Henry Thomas), who cannot decide which side he is on. Back in New York, Amsterdam sees the faces of many of his father's old friends, who have turned on their origins and sided with Bill. They include Happy Jack (John C. Reily), who is now the cheif constable, and has been completely corrupted by Bill's madness. In fact, the only other person in the town that thinks for themselves is Monk McGinn (Brendan Gleeson), who also once sided with Amsterdam's father. While trying the classic approach of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer," by making friends with Bill and getting close to him, Amsterdam meets Jenny (Cameron Diaz), a pickpocket who was raised by Bill. The two dislike each other at first, but soon fall madly in love, much to the dismay of Johnny, who is also in love with her. But after Bill finds out about Amsterdam's true identity, Amsterdam remembers what he is fighting for, and must team up with Jenny and the rest of the Irish immigrants to free New York from Bill's tyranious rule. This all also occurs around the Civil War draft riots, which occur in the film's climax. The acting in this film is superb. Daniel Day-Lewis is awesome and deserves an Oscar nomination for his portrayl of Bill, the evil villian with a soul. If he doesn't get recognized this year it will be an all-out travesty. Leonardo DiCaprio is very good as well, but his performance in Catch Me If You Can was much better. Cameron Diaz is sensational, in a role proving that she can act in films other than comedies. Henry Thomas, who, if you can believe it, is the little boy in E.T. , is decent, but his role is more supporting than anything else. Another Oscar nomination should go to director Martin Scorsese, who worked very hard to bring this epic to the screen, and spent money making everything look authentic. The sets and costume designs were fantastic, and proved that sometimes, not using the CGI approach is better. But some should be warned. This movie is not light at all. There is some gruesome violence and torture, and is not for the faint at heart. A woman in the theater screamed twice while seeing this, so be warned. Overall, Gangs Of New York is one of the best films of the year, even if it is also one of the bloodiest. ***** stars --Cory Thompson Trailers Kill Bill (Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah) Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney) TRIVIA Robert DeNiro was originally set to star as Amsterdam when the idea first came up for the film in 1978. This film has had several different release dates, which included December 25th, 2001, March 8th, 2002, July 12th, 2002, and December 25th, 2002. Finally it was moved up to December 20th, 2002 due to Leonardo DiCaprio's other film, Catch Me If You Can , was also opening on Christmas Day. The film cost north of $100 million to make. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio gave up portions of their paychecks to get the movie made. |