Harlem Harlequin...almost

Rating: 10/10 (10 November 2007)

Denzel Washington and Russell Crow. What a seemingly odd coupled-arrangement for a casting, yet they soared together. I sat and watched the story wind-up as the power Lucas (Washington) had learned and then collected, taking 'Bumpy's' place in the middle of Harlem. He practically lived a sort of gangster's romance novel. Seeing the woman, (Miss Cuba)that drove him wild inside, he had to have her...and he did, for a time. This being a true story, was a real American crime family saga, from a black man that learned from the Italian mob and his former boss. There was a killer cast of characters from Brolin what a superb hard ass cop, to John Ortiz (The Job- 2001, Miami Vice- 2006) who, as his partner was fantastic as a seventies Latino cop. His problems grew and eventually when Crow's character confronted him, he cut and ran and eventually paid...with his life. Sad, you like Ortiz's police officer and rooted for him, yet you knew, that he was going down, almost midway through as new information about him surfaced. It made me angry and ashamed to see him like that. There is an officer that is good and smart and couldn't stay on the outside of trouble.
Crow's character, was on a mission plain and simple, he is dedicated to his work and doing it efficiently and as directly honest as possible. He is hard driving, but someone you could count on if you were an officer needing back-up. I really enjoyed his portrayal as that officer. I also had it in my heart for the casting of Clarence Williams III as 'Bumpy' the Harlem gentleman gangster, who ran Harlem. The rest of the cast shined, right along with Crow and Washington. You could feel the authenticity and purity of their characters playing out their respective roles in this fast climbing and ever faster descending rise to power drama of a drug lord in Harlem. Crow's cop puts his own task-force together, with a handful of hard street wise and very savvy undercover officers. They were not perfect, but they did their job and performed it to the letter, not letting up, until the case was completed. He (Lucas)had a style that led him into the spot that he would fill until his ultimate demise. Denzel was a wonder. Crow was a strong and concrete, believable force in American Gangster. They were a marvel as the mob-man and the motivated cop. Ted Levine, I can't get by without mentioning his brilliant addition to this spectacle in New York blue. Ted played the Commanding Captain to a 'T'. Levine at one point or maybe two looked and seemed to have 'Martin Landau' down cold. Ted looked like him and sounded very close to Landau as well, I laughed out loud, it was smashing, I couldn't help but be amazed by Ted in this. What a positive casting pick for this True Story drama. The final Church scene that came following the 'raids' was haunting, the gospel singing with the police in the streets outside of the church, as the cold burrowed through and the rain fell the gospel singing in the midst of a criminal finally, was something I had not quite seen and felt before-gripping, chills down the spine. The two sitting in the interrogation room, taking information from Frank the gangster, was quite a heart-enthralling event. What I mean in this is that he or rather 'they' Crow and Washington's character had a definite connection to each other that worked and encompassed.
I didn't quite know what I would take away with me, upon viewing the trailer, but I watched a classic story unfold with hammer hitting conviction and concrete reality. There was different events that Lucas attended with boxers like Ali and seeing Sammy along with the celebrity spectators, he saw a lot and as Sammy often sang to a packed audience... "If you can't do the time,then don't do the crime." The ending was a perfect one for an ex-gangster with absolutely nothing left, no wife, no money, no family, no friends, no business....not even a ride home...that is if he had one.
That's that....Recommended Highly (****)