Film Review: Gangs of New York

A truly gripping tale that unveils some furious history

After being delayed for some time, Martin Scorsese’s epic tale of the birth of New York is finally unleashed. Painting an incredibly detailed and harrowing picture, Gangs of New York is more than just splendor; it’s a truly gripping tale that unveils some furious history.

Centered on the gangs that ruled the desolate Five Points, the groundwork for its central story surrounds that of Amsterdam Vallon’s (DiCaprio) quest for redemption. As a young boy, he witnesses his father, Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson) slain by Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis) in a gang battle between the Dead Rabbits (Vallon) and the Natives (Butcher). The young Vallon is sent away and returns more than a decade later setting his sights on vengeance. During this time, we discover how the Five Points have changed – new gangs, new affiliations but the same bad blood. With more than just vengeance on his mind (a side story featuring Cameron Diaz), we see how he not only fights with the demons around him, but the ones that inhabit him.

The violence is bloodthirsty, the characters are remarkably convincing (most notably, the outstanding Daniel Day-Lewis) and it is all displayed in such vivid imagery, captured to near perfection by Scorsese. While visually and audibly superb, the story itself is a little drawn out. Seemingly taking forever to reach some form of culmination, it is occasionally sidetracked by some of the more meandering points (DiCaprio and Diaz’s character relationship).

There is enough within the execution however, of the said story to keep the audience enthralled. Packing in a big punch with its visual and panoramic beauty (the bad streets of New York have never looked so good), Gangs of New York is an intense reminder of how one of Earth’s greatest cities began in such ruin. Epic in grandeur, this is one not to be missed.

GANGS OF NEW YORK
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly