Tired and familiar

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2003)

There's a good movie lurking somewhere in this script as the story of the Draft Riots is historically compelling. But I've seen this plot too often to want to see it again. I'm usually a big Daniel Day-Lewis fan; however, the strange American accent he uses in the film is so distracting, it's difficult to focus on much else when he's on screen (other than his equally distracting hair). Hard to believe that the director's cut was an hour longer as the film seems interminable during the final 30-45 minutes. I hear good things about Kevin Baker's Paradise Alley, a new novel about the Draft Riots, so I'll give that a try. Gangs of New York is one major disappointment...