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GANGS OF NEW YORK By Rachel Deahl Review Film Critic First conceived by Martin Scorcese in 1978, the highly anticipated "Gangs of New York" arrives in theaters with all the epic grandiosity and flawed brilliance of a film that was over twenty years in the making. Ambitious, over-arching, imperfect and amazing, Scorcese's epic about 19th century street gangs is a raw, exciting swirl of violence, hardship and truncated American history. Rumors of problems on the set and release delays shrouded the film in an air of mystery and, to some extent, infamy. Reports leaked that the picture's star, Leonardo DiCaprio, was badmouthing both the film and Scorsese. Worsening matters was the fact that the picture was supposedly over budget, a problem that caused the film's producer, Miramax studio head Harvey Weinstein, to wrangle with his auteur.
It is there that Priest and his men will face off against William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his minions. Going to blows for the right to run the central area known as the Five Points, the motley crews settle in to fight for their right to rule. What ensues is a gruesome attack in which the white snow is quickly soaked through with blood, as Bill the Butcher finally kills Priest while his young son looks on. Returning from the orphanage some 15 years later as Leonardo DiCaprio, Priest's boy makes his way back to the Five Points to seek revenge on Bill. Now running the area, Bill and his men do the strong-arming for the crooked politician named Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent). A strange breed of patriot, Bill thinks of himself as "a nativist," fighting the immigrants (predominantly Irish) who have beset the city, trying to keep control in the hands of his own perceived kind, the White Anglo-Saxons who supposedly founded the country. And, as the showy butcher with one eye and a curled handlebar mustache, Day-Lewis is brilliant as the king thug who is equal parts entertainer and intimidator. Admitting that his secret to leadership is keeping up the "spectacle" of fear, the long departed thespian delivers an unforgettable performance as the gruesome, yet endearing, villain of the Five Points. More underwhleming is DiCaprio, whose presence is completely overshadowed by Day-Lewis. As the American-born orphan who calls himself Amsterdam, it's easy to see why DiCaprio's vengeful lad would fall in with Bill and his men, as he quickly does. And, when the boy becomes the Butcher's beloved right hand man he is torn between his initial goal of killing the man who murdered his father and betraying the ruthless local boss, who he's come to respect and, perhaps, love. Revealing this early city for what it was: a corrupt, ruthless, dirty, destitute hellhole, Scorsese's Five Points is the melting pot writ large. With throngs of immigrants arriving daily, the area is defined by melding accents and varied faces. Although the focus is on the Irish, Scorsese takes great pains to ensure that the stories of the Blacks and other immigrants scraping by in the abysmal spot are not overlooked. And, hoping to highlight the effect of the Civil War, the director includes multiple shots of immigrants arriving off of one boat only to be sent away on another, stamped in as American citizens and immediately drafted to "fight for their country." While bringing the national crisis into the spotlight is interesting, the effect is a bit overwhelming. When Scorsese attempts to bring the film out of the Five Points "Gangs" unravels a bit and loses track of its focus. It's here that the director's ambition comes up against the need for continuity and, to some respect, restraint. Luckily, Scorsese doesn't linger on such details long enough to completely lose sight of his story. Finally, the national tension fused with the mounting local conflicts in the Five Points come to a head with the searing finale of the film, which depicts the violent draft riots that occurred in New York City in 1863. A perfect coda for the film, the riots begin with throngs from the Five Points marching uptown to loot the ornate townhouses, and kill the wealthy inhabitants. When the army is sent out to squelch the unruly masses, the violent chaos unleashed wipes out hundreds of unarmed citizens from downtown, as well as the Five Points itself. It's amidst the debris and canon blasts that Scorsese's vision comes searingly alive: it reminds us that New York, like America, was a town built out of friction, corruption and on the backs of the poor outsiders who came to make it their home. NARC In the opening sequence of director Joe Carnahan's new crime drama, "Narc," Jason Patric's rogue cop goes tearing through a city street in pursuit of a fleeing perpetrator. Opting to take out the target (even though he's grabbed a young hostage), the unwieldy detective shoots and hits his mark. But, making the victory more than a little bittersweet is the fact that he also takes down a pregnant bystander, sending her to the ground in a pool of blood. Shot with jumpy hand-held camerawork that would make the crew from "The Blair Witch Project" queasy, the scene unfolds at a disorienting, hectic pace. And, although this bombshell opener is undoubtedly the best part of Carnahan's formulaic thriller, the green director manages to make good on the basic elements of the genre, drawing two fine performances from his leads. Made on a shoestring budget, "Narc" was discovered at Sundance last year and found a major distributor in Paramount. Carnahan, who created a buzz (and a slight cult following) with his 1998 indie, "Blood, Guts and Octane," works off his strong script to infuse his sophomore effort with enough subtlety to make it work. Patric stars as fallen narcotics officer, Nick Tellis. Released from the force after his brash, dangerous takedown in the opening scene, we're next introduced to him in at his home, cuddling with his infant son. Offered the chance to investigate the homicide of another undercover cop, Tellis reluctantly joins the force once again, much to the dismay of his wife. With his past of drug addiction, Tellis' wife knows all too well the dangers of a job that already ruined her husband once. But, drawn to the victim (who was also a young narcotics officer with a family), Tellis becomes obsessed with the idea that he can somehow redeem himself by solving the case. Paired with the victim's former partner, Henry Oak (Ray Liotta), Tellis finds himself in the hands of a self-proclaimed vigilante who will stop at nothing to find the killers. Unafraid of acting like a criminal to catch a criminal, Oak's gruff, blue collar, veteran willfully pulls Tellis along as he investigates the case with his own vendetta writ large. Of course as Tellis digs, his focus turns to Oak as he begins to question his new partner's complicity in the crime. The reigning theme of "Narc" is the way in which the line is between the lawmaker and the lawbreakers is constantly blurred in the pursuit of "justice." Of course this idea is nothing new and, while an episode of "NYPD Blue" or "Law & Order" might finally deliver the same message about how the "good" guys aren't always so benevolent, "Narc" works its tale of dirty cops well. But, at its best, the film reveals the internal struggle that Patric's conflicted cop endures. When Patric's character is at home, holding his baby and arguing with his wife, attempting to cling to some shred of domestic bliss, the real tragedy of the film is driven home: like the guys he's chasing, Tellis has no other, better, way to make a living. It's in these tender and, at times, heartbreaking moments that a little-seen brutality of the crime business comes through.
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