A Magnificent Failure

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2006)

Watching Gangs of New York is sort of like witnessing a beautiful ship sink under its own weight. The film is, in my opinion, ultimately a failure, but it is a spectacular failure. It feels incomplete, crude, almost a prototype of a masterpiece. Martin Scorsese continues to move away from his gritty roots toward the artistic and the epic, a field that he in which he has already proved himself with the beautiful masterpiece Kundun. Gangs of New York is a story of vengeance, set against the backdrop of the 1860s New YOrk, a city divided into tribes at war. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a surprisingly decent performance as the young Amsterdam Vallon, whose father, the "Priest" Vallon (Liam Neeson, in a great cameo), was killed in an epic battle between the IRish immigrants and the "Natives" by William Cutting, "Bill the Butcher." DiCaprio proves that he can indeed act beyond the range of the Titanic sweetheart, and gives impetus for his superior role in The Aviator. The acting honours of this film, however, go to Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill. This is Lewis' best performance yet, and in this film he stands as a Titan amongst minnows, and creates a character so complex and fascinating that one cannot help but think this film is unworthy of him. Bill is a born killer, who uses his butcher knives and knowledge of anatomy to stike down his enemies in single blows. The film is pretty much divided into two acts: the first is brilliant, the second is a disaster. In the first, we have a story of vengeance and valour. Perhaps Bill's most fascinating quality is his similarity to the knights of old. He and his enemy, Priest Vallon, were both men of warrior character, two similar natures placed on opposites sides of the battlefield. The respect that Bill renders to the memory of Priest Vallon as the only great warrior he ever knew, a respect and amity free of hatred now that his foe is vanquished, forestalls Amsterdam's ideas of revenge. Amsterdam finds himself drawn to the man who killed his father, recognizing in him the same great character of his father. He ultimately is protected under the wings of the dragon, and is driven near madness by the affection which he feels coupled with hatred. The second act begins after Amsterdam reveals his real nature, and is set up against the Butcher. From here on, the film degenerates into a typical story of war. Though this is weak, its promise of an apocalyptic war between the two factions keeps the tension high. It is utterly inexcusable that Scorsese robs us of this final pleasure, substituting a violent riot that extinguishes all the momentum of the last two hours, and leaves the final fight between Amsterdam and the Butcher awkward and unsatisfying. Ultimately, this is a film worth seeing, and one cannot help but lament the failure of the masterpiece that could have been.