Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2006)

I've seen the movie yesterday along with Inside Man and Saw. Though a tad bit long, it never ceases to impress me. Martin Scorsese brings us yet one of his masterpieces and slaps it in our faces and tells us that he is one of the greatest directors in Hollywood. With the recent success of his latest direction 'The Departed', Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest director there ever was.
OK, so the plot is simple but elegant. Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to Five Points section to avenge the death of his father 'Priest' Vallon (Liam Neeson) who was slain by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) sixteen years ago in an all-out territorial war in Five Points between the Native Americans led by Bill The Butcher and the Irish immigrants led by 'Priest' Vallon who calls themselves the "Dead Rabbits". Unfortunately they lost. So, it was goodbye to the Irish immigrants and hello to their new local leader Bill The Butcher. Amsterdam, witnessing the death of his father tries to escape, goes underground and hides the knife that took his father's life before he was caught and was taken in a place called "Hellgate". Now, 16 years had passed and we see a corrupt, impoverished and an already dying Five Points. All the people there must pay to Bill The Butcher for the pleasures he gives them. A local political sect called the Tammany Hall lead by Boss Tweed can't do nothing against Bill The Butcher's influential and massive power that's griping Five Points.
So, Amsterdam, knowing that he can't match Bill's influence and power that he's got befriends him and Bill in exchange takes him under his wing and thinks of him as his own son. Their bond has gotten stronger when an attempt to kill Bill The Butcher was foiled by Amsterdam only wounding Bill in the shoulder and makes it less-lethal. This makes Amsterdam realize that his plan to kill Bill The Butcher is slowly fading away as his respect and devotion to him grows. But he didn't let the respect and devotion devour him. On one particular celebration, the day the Dead Rabbits died along with 'Priest Vallon, Amsterdam finally plans to kill Bill The Butcher in front of the public while celebrating the death of his honorable father. But, Johnny, a friend of Amsterdam betrays him just because he didn't get the girl of his dreams, Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz) who has fallen in love with Amsterdam. He tells Bill Amsterdam's real identity just before the celebration starts. So, this makes him aware that Amsterdam is trying to kill him that night. So, Amsterdam's plan failed and he was the one that was stabbed in the abdomen. Bill tortures him and left him to die. Thanks to Jenny, who took care of him while he's suffering the wounds that he got courtesy of Bill. When Amsterdam is up and running, he resurrects the name the Dead Rabbit and declares an all-out war to the Native Americans. It didn't go as planned because of the Draft Riots that put New York in a state of calamity. One thing led to another and Amsterdam ended up stabbing Bill The Butcher and eventually killing him.
The cast was great. Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz leads an all-star cast. They portray their respective roles with finesse and excellence. Daniel Day-Lewis, along with his New Yorker accent was the best villain I've seen since Saruman of Lord of the Rings. He portrays Bill "The Butcher" Cutting with elegance and he goes with the flow. Its the first time I've seen him act and he was darn good. Too bad he died. Cameron Diaz was the one who should've died. LOl.
Great sound score too. Whoever supervised the music was top-notch. The mood was just right there. And the song "The Hands That Built America" by U2, though I'm not American, was one of my favorites. Its not the title, its the message. America today owes something to the people who built their country for what it is right now. 9/10.