Very good movie

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2003)

Very good movie, but just lacking the added emotion to make it a great movie. Daniel Day Lewis gives a jaw dropping performance...his demeanor, his expressions, his accent, his actions...all larger than life. I was totally drawn into his character as he gave the finest acting job that I have seen in many years. I'm very glad to see him performing once again after a seemingly long hiatus from the big screen since he is a very talented actor. I must admit, that DiCaprio and Diaz gave very good (but not great) performances as well, but as others have commented, my complaint as well was the lack of emotion. Leo sure has the charm, and they made him up to look like a sewer rat very well, but he just can't pull off the gritty rage that his character was supposed to have. Cameron Diaz, usually an actress whom I've grown very tired of seeing playing the same old ditsy blonde chick roles surprised me as the pickpocket/hooker with a heart of gold. She acted very well, though, like DiCaprio, did not have the added emotion or 'hear me roar' attitude that was necessary of the role. Day Lewis steals the show, by far, and I hope this boosts his career ten-fold...what can I say, I was floored by his performance, as others have mentioned as well.
The cinematography is superb. Scorcese hits home with another winning direction style; in your face, and at the same time it shows the full picture of the setting and surroundings. Absolutely wonderful sets, makeup and costumes. I was also very impressed with the courage that this film had to mention many historical events that happened but you don't hear about in the history books. The horrible, class-biased and racist Union conscription, that spared the wealthy from the draft and was targeted against the immigrants and minorities to go and be slaughtered in their place during the Civil War. Also, the tones of the movie and of the wounded Northern veterans making comments very fervently that the war was not at all fought to free slavery, (but, for the politicians' dreams of Preserving the Union) and the honest way they portrayed Lincoln, the supposed 'Great Emancipator', who was the biggest racist of them all (these facts are all left out of history books), if only they told how Lincoln factually spoke publicly about how he thought minorities were inferior to whites and how he used slave labor to rebuild the White House, it would have been perfect. It goes to show you the lack of respect for human life to ensure a Union victory, and this movie totally portrays this truth. Overall, I really felt a candle was lit for these people, especially the hardships of the Irish immigrants who were my ancestors, and I am glad to see that all of the minorities were portrayed accurately, showing each of their hardships and oppression. Though, no doubt, slavery was a horrible thing, indeed, the film shows many other races (Irish, Oriental, Hockneyed-English as well as others, including African Americans) that suffered that are not mentioned nearly as much in the history books. Bravo, Mr. Scorcese, for having the courage to put these facts on film. I think everyone can acknowledge that it was a tough time for everyone, at there wasn't one race that was spared from the hell, whether it was from the war of the states or from the war on the streets.
This was a great movie all around, but I had some major complaints with it, especially during the last hour. There are so many sub-plots that it is hard to understand the point or the actual plot of the story other than to show the hard-ships of the Irish and other immigrants who flocked in droves to New York harbor. There are many scenes where out of Steps: A, B and C that should have been used to explain where a character(s) is/are and why they're doing what they're doing, Step B is often somehow amateurishly left out.
***MINOR SPOILERS*** The biggest example of leaving the middle step out is towards the end when DiCaprio explains how he can use the increasing numbers of the immigrants as an army and how they need to rile them up to get them to fight...The Step B that is left out is explaining how and why they trusted him so much that they were willing to die under his leadership. I know that there were a lot of reasons why (especially the death of an important leader), but I just wasn't convinced of the comraderie there...there just wasn't any type of Mel Gibson in Braveheart type speech to rally the troops, they just appear at the end when convenient. This is especially relevant after he was publicly humiliated that his former 'friends' come back to his aid, though they should have known full well that they would be killed too if they were seen with him...but why did they go to him as a leader when he had become a 'shameful' outcast? And, how did Diaz get his body away from Bill the Butcher? And how did the police officer/assassin know exactly where to find him, and why was he the only one sent to kill him? And why was The Butcher taking out his anger for DiCaprio on Diaz's character whom he had raised and loved for over 10 years? These and many more left me puzzled and a little upset...this movie had been nigh perfect up until the second half. I know, I know, it's just a movie...and if you remain a little ignorant to these questions, you can still enjoy this film. ***END OF MINOR SPOILERS***
Also, as someone else mentioned, where was all the blood in the opening battle? You see it towards the climax, but the first minute or two, you see The Butcher cleaning house, and taking out like 10 guys at once and not a drop of blood is spilled. That's very odd, especially from Scorcese. The ending also fails to convey the release of pure hatred fueled by revenge and the last 'duel' is way too short to be rewarding. Still, you get the point, I guess.
Despite the complaints I just mentioned, overall, it was one of the best movies I have seen all year. With the negative aspects, I was going to give this one a high 7 or a low 8, but given the fact that the acting was superb and the cinematography will stay with me for some time, I have to give it a 9, mostly for the replay value and the feeling that this movie was an experience, and not just another film. Despite the plot holes here and there, I still enjoyed this film almost the entire way through, and for almost three hours, that is an excellent job worthy of a 9 rating. Perhaps the dvd will explain a lot more with deleted scenes.
Pound for pound, another triumph for Scorcese. He truly delivers an epic story that is unique as it is daring, however, it falls short of being another Godfather or a Braveheart. Still. very worth seeing and worth owning. 9/10 stars.