Great film, DiCaprio does not belong in it

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2003)

Leonardo DiCaprio was well cast as a temperamental teenager, placing his emotional whims over the political situation. He was very convincing as a hedonistic slacker slumped on a tropical island. As a juvenile tricking people into thinking he's something he's not he seems right at home. But as a rebel and dynamic hero beset by the harsh prejudices of life with the awesome forces of history grinding on past him, he will never convince. Martin Scorsese's latest paean to New York is an historical epic in the same league as Gladiator or The Godfather that stays grounded in the gutter violence and street values he has previously portrayed. The treatments of history, of racial and religious conflict, of class prejudice and the nature of violence are all great Saturday night entertainment. Daniel Day-Lewis takes a quick break from boxing, or making Italian leather goods, or twiddling his thumbs to play one of the most menacing and morally challenging antagonists of the past ten years, and Liam Neeson's brief turn as Priest Vallon is nearly his equal. Cameron Diaz doesn't do too badly, although there is still a sense that she's just 'the girl,' even in a film of this calibre and ambition; she does a bit with not much of a role. The rest of the film, and it's getting on for two thirds, involves DiCaprio sneering a lot and making his voice coach cringe. He can convey a range of emotions but not a range of characters. Potentially it's Scorsese's greatest film if only he'd cast someone closer to Day-Lewis talent as the hero. As it is this is good entertainment and better filmmaking than anything else at the multiplex.