An American Tale: Washington goes East

Rating: 7/10 (2 November 2007)

Director Ridley Scott brings to the screen, American Gangster, the true story of Frank Lucas, the notorious drug smuggler during the 60s and 70s revolutionized the drug industry. Oscar winner Steven Zaillian writes the crime piece but doesn't provide the viewer with enough fuel to launch the film off the ground. The countdown to take off was great and then the viewer stayed stagnant with the engines going for nearly forty-five minutes before the rocket took off. All the dialogue seemed too forced and too aggressive to engage us into the film. It was like a five year old telling us to "Watch this, watch this." Alright Mr. Scott and Mr. Zaillian, I'll watch just stop telling me to do so. I think there was too much anticipation built up into a mediocre storyline.
Academy Award winner Denzel Washington stars as Lucas bringing forth a candy cane version of his "Alonzo" in Training Day. As the ferocious Frank, Washington manages to inherit all the fury and anger of a troubled young individual yearning for success and leave his inhibitions at the door. As a terrific turn for the veteran actor Washington does an admiral job on a character we hardly know and introduces him to us full force. How can Washington manage to be so good and make all this seem effortless? Beats me, but the fact that it looks so easy and the character doesn't demand too much of Washington may be his undoing in this upcoming awards season. While a nomination isn't out of the question, with two wins to his credit, this performance holds no measure to his previous works. Zaillian was unsure how malicious he wanted to portray Lucas and ended up portraying him as incredibly unsure of himself and how he wanted to be. But maybe that's the character and Scott just failed to let us know.
Russell Crowe plays Detective Richie Roberts, a narcotics cop battling more than the drug war on the streets of New York. The monotone detective never lets Crowe break out of his exterior tough demeanor. A big star like Crowe definitely takes on this supporting turn with a sense of humility and that perhaps is the triumph of the performance. With big starring turns in Gladiator, Cinderella Man, and A Beautiful Mind, I would never expect Crowe to take on such a quiet role and do it with dignity. An impressive turn but doesn't have the pivotal scene that one actor yearns for that steals any scene.
With 90% of the film having Washington and Crowe separated, the anxious and satisfying meeting in the finale settled all tension built up throughout the film's narrative. Ridley Scott seems on the back burner of this picture as he allows his stars to run the show. The supporting cast even shows some brightness off and on.
It's Ruby Dee as Mama Lucas that capitalizes on her limited screen time. As a veteran actress she does have the power and potential to break into the extremely weak Supporting Actress race. She shows vulnerability yet an intense courage that evokes the audience when she's on screen.
Josh Brolin's exciting and villainous turn as a crooked cop turns out to be a strong turn for the actor who is having one hell of a year with an acclaimed turn in No Country for Old Men. Chiwitel Ejifor has a presence in a film that is soothing but doesn't flow with the characters he chooses. He might be Hollywood's best kept secret at the moment with the wrong roles.
In the end, American Gangster may not have enough steam to jump into the Best Picture race. With Scott being so "overdue" for a Oscar, that may the film's only hope. With comparisons be thrown around to The Departed, (which doesn't measure by a mile) last year's winner, the film already has an uphill climb ahead. Serious potential for Washington and Dee for this year's Oscar race. The film is enjoyable but tries too hard to start off with a bang and ends up leaving the viewer disenchanted and we spend too much of the premise trying to play catch up.
Grade: ***/****