Written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis
Released 2002
After being released from a religious prison, Amsterdam Vallon returns home to the “Five Points” area of 1862 New York. He has spent his entire childhood in the confines of a monastery structure, seemingly to have been given the spiritual wisdom to go out and live a God-fearing life, but the rage and revenge still burns hot within his heart, and it is solely set on the man responsible for murdering his father…Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, the most powerful man of the “Five Points.” However, as the plan unfolds, Amsterdam has new feelings to manage, balancing love and loyalty. It’s the biggest risk of his life that might just cost him the very thing.
Story
Mob-style stories are always so fascinating to me and the conglomerate of themes presented. At surface level, there’s the obvious anguish among groups and cruel bloodshed, where it would appear to have no sense of empathy or even understanding. Yet, we are taken into the confines of the individual life, revealing motives, thoughts, history, and reasoning. We see them nurture those they consider family, they laugh and shout in joyous moments, they rest and dream and even thank God for another day. We get to understand how the belief of justice is solidified through their violent acts, and although self-righteousness could possibly be blamed for such a devastating blunder, nevertheless, if death should pass over them, they die a hero, fighting for what they hold to be honorable.
What I enjoyed about “Gangs of New York” is how everyone was made to be a crook in their own way, at least to what society would deem so. Every character had palpable behaviors of barbarity, coupled with a pointed agenda of manipulation; they all were essentially villains. When we have no other choice but to pick the lesser of evils to side with, we have to come to a sensible explanation as to why. I likely sided with a majority of viewers, rooting for Amsterdam (DiCaprio) and Jenny (Diaz), but what was my subconscious reason? In any realistic setting, they all would be considered abhorrent and completely untrustworthy. This type of story forces us to challenge our constructed perspective on “good guy vs bad guy,” and perhaps plunges down further, below the surface of mere acts and into an immersion of rapport and undiscovered relatability.
Imagery & Production
Director of Photography was by the very talented Michael Ballhaus (Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, Bram Stoker’s Dracula), and Production Design was by the ever-so innovative Dante Ferretti (Sweeney Todd, Hugo, Shutter Island). There seemed to be a consistent, thematic element to the structural build of this world. Very large and complicated environments but still filled to the brim with chaotic clusters people. Everything was always at full capacity, a packed population wherever we were taken to. It really illustrated the need for growth within this domain, which would ultimately add to one of the concepts of the story itself about drastic and progressive changes. An artistic nuance, symbolizing their need to get rid of the old way of the world and move into an existence that could maintain such volume, fresh ideas, and new leadership. The large theaters, town halls, and churches that at one time possibly held grandeur and poise, now sits crumbled and dilapidated, yet still in use. Of course, there was some whimsey to it all, a few notes of dramatic exaggeration, mystery and magic, my favorite ingredients.
I wouldn’t say this was a conventionally attractive piece. It appeared they wanted to intentionally focus on the grunge and grime. All of the characters, even the more esteemed, still had a muskiness to them. The costume design, done by Sandy Powell (Cinderella *2015*, The Favourite), did such an incredible job at capturing the vulgarity and foulness of humanity, as they held on to old materialistic keepsakes to maintain their fading statuses. Suits and gowns, pocket watches and knives, tall hats and slender shoes, all tokens that had been broken, ripped, stolen, and poorly kept. It was all junk, nothing of real importance, but it was all they had. Blood, sweat and tears was as intertwined to the design of this world as it was to the narrative. To be blunt, it was as if literally nobody in this town ever bathed or if they did it was in their own piss, again adding to the many layers of repulsiveness, both internally and externally. Cinematically, you always felt very much apart of the space, not getting an outsiders POV, but actually being a towns member and seeing all the action, and clandestineness, up close.
Performance
Our protagonist, Amsterdam, is played by one of cinemas most known face, Leonardo DiCaprio. This was honestly one of my favorite performances from him. His portrayal of this implacable and tormented fellow who unpredictably forms a genuine relationship with his long-awaited adversary, and still manages to experience love and care both platonically and romantically with a woman who is also quite double-dealing in many ways. He has several occurrences where he is faced with the decision to carry out his life-long plan of avenging his fathers’ death, or to unclinch the fists of his wrath after realizing the weight of his heart. Leonardo does a tremendous job of deeply embodying this unrelenting dilemma.
The antagonist of our story, Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, was played by Daniel Day-Lewis, also an extraordinary actor. He completely made Bill such a fascinating character who I immediately loved. It’s not very often where a narrative will have such a “villain” that audiences will also relate to and have some sort of partiality for, but that’s exactly what Daniel did with The Butcher. There was always this sense of knowing I felt from him, as if from the very start of meeting Amsterdam, he knew exactly who he was. This was never actually stated, but I adored that sub context David gave Bill, a layering of hidden emotions that subtly were sown into his mannerisms. The cast line up had some other great actors as well, Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane, Amsterdam’s love interest, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Liam Neeson, and Brendan Gleeson to name a few more. Each one of them felt so authentic and dynamic, it truly made the entire world feel real.
What Does it Mean?
How we define justice creates a framework for our idea of right and wrong. Motives that seem to hold a greater value of “fairness” or “honor” deem to be more understandable and therefore approvable, even if the action itself is blatantly harsh with a solely lethal intention. The hypocrisy of it all though, is our judgment of who in fact is validated in their ferocity, based on our own preconceived ideas or moral compass. Within the same realm of condemning one man for murder, we can just as easily blame the other man for more bloodshed. Is an eye for an eye the true common law among us as people? If someone chooses not to punish, are they in fact “taking the higher road,” or being the better person? I don’t think it’s very often we are faced with such extreme decisions or circumstances of befriending the killer of our father to ultimately slain them and everyone around them or forgive them and live together as a community under a hidden guise, but the heart of the matter can be comprehensible.
More commonly, we are confronted with complicated dynamics of betrayal, loss, grief, and hatred towards those who have inflicted pain. I can imagine the bewilderment of becoming genuinely close to your enemy, learning who they are, their own stories of pain and purpose, and receiving a form of recognition and partnership from them. Is it enough to let go of the past? At what cost would it even be worth to follow through on retaliation? I believe “Gangs of New York” depicts the emotionally, and physically, arduous journey of retribution, as well as the many nuances we as flawed people have, and how those qualities aren’t often taken into account during our plans of compensation. Whether or not someone deserves to die may not be the main take away, rather if this is a decision you want on your hands and your ability to live with that, believing you did the right thing.
A great film overall with outstanding performances. Highly recommend to watch at least once!