Movieline - September 2001
Gangs of New York
It's been a while since Martin Scorsese made a breakout movie, so his imprimatur on a film opening in traditional Oscar bait season ensures nothing except dutiful reverence from critics entrenched in a 70's time warp. Gangs of New York which is about Irish and Italian mafia prototypes in New York City, puts Scorsese on ultraviolent terra firma at least, and even the story's historical remove--it takes place in the pre-Civil War era--is something that his 1993 film The Age of Innocence says he'll finesse. But what makes this film promising and adds to the suspense of it's approach, is the casting. The central character, a young man out to avenge the death of his father, is played by one-time Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, a young man out to avenge the death of his dignity. The object of his vengence is played by Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, the object of endless curiosity based on his long absence from the movies. Cameron Diaz stars as DiCaprio's pickpocket girlfriend. One-time Oscar nominee Liam Neeson is DiCaprio's dad. A profoundly good lineup of character actors, including Jim Broadbent, John C. Riley, Breedan Gleeson and Pete Postlethwaite, support the starpower. All of this is backed by Shindler's List scripter Steven Zaillian's screenplay with Jay Cocks and Scorsese (Cocks and Scorsese were previously nominated for their writing for The Age of Innocence but neither one has ever won an Academy Award), which got some rewriting by Kenneth Lonergan, an Oscar nominee for last year's You Can Count on Me. In other words, the budget on this glossy production something approaching $100 million, has brought the best of everything above and below the line (including Elmer Bernstein doing the scroe). Miramax having been snookered two years in a row by arch Oscar-rival DreamWorks,will be gunnin' for gold with Gangs of New York unless things have gone throughly awry with this rich mix.
Thanks to Foxgirl !
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