Hemmed in by good intentions and bad decisions

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2003)

Martin Scorcese had his hands full getting this story told. Historical dramas are a hit-or-miss in Hollywood cinema. Sometimes, you get a classic and sometimes you get a forgettable mess. Worse, sometimes, you get a mish-mash that is lukewarm and gets forgotten in the fullness of time (Once Upon a Time in America leaps to mind.)
The casting of this film is right and wrong on so many levels that I feel sorry for the director rather than take issue with him. Cameron Diaz and Leo DiCaprio do not belong in this film. It's not to impugn their acting skills, but this movie was simply the wrong vehicle for them. Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor, but he is not a great one, and the role of Amsterdam needed to be carried by a great actor. The same goes for Cameron Diaz. No offense, but Scorcese should have fired the accent coach for these two principal cast members.
Some events in the story were outright and unnecessary falsehoods. SPOILER ALERT: Federal ships firing on the Five Points not only never happened, but it doesn't make any sense! Why randomly destroy property in a part of the city that was not even a focal point of the riots!? Why risk hitting your own troops? That plot hole detracted from a story that took great pains to be accurate and faithful to the spirit of that era.
I give Martin Scorcese an A for effort but a C+ for the result. Sorry, dude. In the years to come, this film will be in the same boat as The Patriot and Once Upon a Time in America.