Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York (2002) is a Historical Crime Drama which begins when Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) witnesses a great battle over American freedom between several gangs- one of which, his father, “Priest” Vallon (Liam Neeson) is the head, the “Dead Rabbits,” with the belief that immigrants own the land just as much as the ‘natives.’ The head of the opposing force is Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), who feels that the Irish crawl into New York to steal the jobs and he wants them out. In the battle, Priest is slain by Cutting, and the story jumps 16 years into the future, where Amsterdam moves from a home for boys just outside New York back into The Five Points of New York where he was born. The Butcher is in charge of the district, and even has wealthy politicians eating out of his hands. Amsterdam reunites with a childhood acquaintance, Johnny Sirocco (Henry Thomas) who shows him the gang runnings in the town as they stand, now. He also introduces him to Jenny Everdeane who Johnny is hopelessly enchanted with, though she’s a devilish pick-pocket who doesn’t exclude him from her line of work. Amsterdam quickly sees the influence that The Butcher has over Five Points, and he embarks on a mission to move up in the district, even though that means getting closer to The Butcher, himself. His goal to avenge his father is just under the surface, however, and the question of American Freedom hangs in the air in a time of gang wars, and the fast approaching draft in The Civil War.

Martin Scorsese, the director of this picture, grew up around the setting of this story. He noticed early on in local graveyards how many layers the city had under its belt. His interest in the city’s history only increased when he read The Gangs of New York by Herbert Ashbury, written in 1928. Scorsese was enthralled with the idea of American Freedom between Americans, themselves, during the time of the Civil War. In the mid 70s, he decided to produce a film on the subject. He laid out a cast he would choose and everything, but he was an early director, and mostly penniless so he put the idea on hold. Later, in the early 80s, he had the fame and ability to produce this epic. He bought the rights to the story and with the help of writers Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, he wrote the script. It was not for 20 more years, however, that the story gained the financial ability, perfect cast, and flawless writing to begin production. To make sure his historical facts were correct, Martin Scorsese contacted Tyler Anbinder, the author of “Five Points,” and a professor of history at George Washington University. The film was given a budget of $83 million dollars on first serve, and DiCaprio and Scorsese both took approved cuts on their salary to make it work. The entire set was built by hand, overseas in Cinecitta, Rome. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards that year.

By far the most striking things about this film are the costumes and sets, and there are hundreds of costumes. The set is enormous and well-crafted. It’s incredible what $83 million dollars will get you… perfection. The colors are alive and vivid. If you’re going to make a Civil War epic, this is the way to do it. Aesthetically, this is what every period piece dreams of being.

The second most striking thing is the character portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis of “The Butcher,” who is based on the real character William Poole of the same period, also called “The Butcher,” but who died about a decade before the climax of this film takes place. I had never seen this actor in anything before his work in this film, and I found his performance unique amongst the other actors, and very moving. He truly captures the essence of the New Yorker’s Civil War attitude against the union. His character was the most interesting, and his performance was the most engaging. Scorsese went to great lengths to learn the official “New Yok” accent of the times, citing recorded works by William Blake, and reading phonetically spelled dialogue in plays from the era. Day-Lewis was so committed to learning the speech that he’s reported to have spoken in the accent even out of character on the set for the duration of shooting.

 As far as directing goes, Martin Scorsese is one of the most committed, awe-inspiring directors I know of. Scorsese is nothing of not dedicated and precise. He goes to great lengths to produce a piece of art worth watching. In an era for film in which craftiness becomes more and more computer dependant, and characters more one-dimensional, Scorsese is a lingering breath of fresh air. He even hired an Italian man called, “The Magician,” who was infamous as a 30-year pick-pocket, to teach Cameron Diaz to do as he had. Scorsese is one of the giants of 20th century film making, and he continues into the 21st century as the same. I would recommend anything he touches, for it’s sure to have admirable qualities.

My general opinion of this movie is that it’s not the most unique thing I’ve ever seen. It’s not going to be my favorite film. It’s not the most well-acted, and it’s not the most well-written. That being said, it’s a fantastic film, and one that I openly recommend to anyone who enjoys epics, or Martin Scorsese’s touch as a director. This is a film that makes you want to learn the true story because it’s so horrific that it couldn’t be true… but a large part of it is. I don’t ever recommend learning fact from fiction because it’s backward and uneducated, but when a work of fiction inspires an audience to seek the true story, it’s doing something right, and that’s being done in this story. Like Titanic, it leaves a lingering impression and a want to see it again.