A gritty examination of human depravity

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2008)

American Gangster is a gritty, unglamorous look at the heroin trade in Harlem in the late 60s and early 70s. The film is based on the true story of Frank Lucas (played by Denzel Washington), an ambitious and visionary African-American crime lord whose power and control grew beyond the historic grasp of the Italian Mafia in New York City. Richie Roberts (played by Russell Crowe) is the detective, turned federal drug agent, who follows the heroin trafficking to its unlikely source before eventually stopping and even befriending Lucas. In the end, Lucas was sentenced to 70 years in prison (he served 15 years after making a deal), $250 million of his assets were seized, 30 of his family members went to prison, and 3/4 of the NYPD's drug enforcement division were arrested for corruption.
Ridley Scott masterfully directs this tale as an expose into a debased world, not a rags-to-riches story of racial triumph and the American Dream. This is not an update of "The Godfather." You won't find a romanticized, glamorous view of organized crime here. The film plays like a drug prevention ad, as graphic images of shooting up and the resulting, destructive consequences are shown over and over. The violence is not of the action-film variety, it's grizzly and shocking. The sex and nudity are prominent, but the effect is far more dehumanizing than enticing. Most importantly, there is no hero in this film, not a single character that can be embraced and looked up to. Each character has sacrificed their integrity whether the result is failing to do the right thing or continuing to do the wrong one. Over and over we are reminded that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; the human condition is clearly depraved.
As much as he thinks of himself as a respectable businessman, devoted family man, and generous community leader, Lucas is a ruthless killer that builds his fortune off of the pain and suffering of the people in his community. Roberts also plays a role that differs from reality, aspiring to a self-righteous integrity that is sporadic at best. One on hand he's an excellent detective and prides himself in failing to take bribes, while at the same time he's a disaster as an absentee father and an unfaithful husband that constantly has sexual encounters with a wide variety of women.
The key scene takes place at the end of the second act. During a custody hearing, Roberts -ex and the mother of his child confronts his hypocrisy. She tells him that he thinks he's going to heaven because he hasn't taken dirty money like the rest of his peers, but she says that he's going to hell like everyone else. She exposes the deception of a theology of works...if we do enough good things, God will have to let us into heaven and right relationship with Him. But by including herself, she affirms the theological truths of Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3, and Ephesians 2:8. Our most righteous acts can't outweigh our inequity; our only hope for redemption is repentance and brokenness.
Roberts gets it, realizes she's right, owns his shortcomings and in that moment gains the clarity that ultimately leads him to take down Lucas. This process of redemption is repeated when Roberts confronts Lucas. This happens as Lucas is leading his mother and wife out of Sunday church with a choir singing Amazing Grace. Roberts confronts Lucas and eventually he acknowledges his sins, owns his inequities and finds redemption in bringing down the crime lords and dirty cops. Through this process Lucas and Roberts form an unusual bond that comes through the shared experience of confrontation and brokenness. And in doing so, they model the only remedy for the depravity of man.