Well made though overlong piece of early New York history.

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2006)

Gangs Of New York is an over-dramatised but compelling story of the struggle to make New York City into a place of law and decency. Set in the 19th Century and shot on incredibly convincing sets, the film is a triumph of design. However, it is not without certain flaws - notably excessive length, artistic licence taken with some of the facts, and the wrong actors in a few key roles. Martin Scorsese directs the whole affair with a sense of great importance, and a few political statements simmering away in the background, but his epic vision was largely snubbed by the Academy Award voters who cynically - and perhaps correctly? - presumed that the director was almost trying TOO hard to make an award winning film. Where Scorsese should receive a nod of approval, though, is in his attempts to revise certain falsehoods about American history. In the Civil War, the Union were promoted as great heroes and protectors of freedom while the Confederates were presented as racist thugs, but Scorsese shows how some pretty disgraceful attitudes towards foreigners (both black and white) existed on all sides. Also, America has always been hailed as the Land of Opportunity, but Scorsese shows conditions for the arriving immigrants to be terribly hostile and unwelcoming in those early days.
In New York City in the mid-19th Century, the streets are littered with stench and decay, and various gangs battle for control of the lawless neighbourhoods. Father Vallon (Liam Neeson) is angered by the hostility and squalor in which he and his fellow Irish immigrants exist, so he challenges Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) to a fight for control of a district called The Five Points. Bill is in charge of the Natives, a gang who despise the endless influx of foreign filth into their land. Vallon is killed during the bloody street battle, and his young son witnesses his death amid the carnage. Sixteen years later, Vallon's son - who has grown up in a reform house - returns to the Five Points under the name of Amsterdam (Leonardo Di Caprio). Amsterdam finds the district under the absolute control of Bill The Butcher, who seems to have even the lawmen and the politicians in his pocket. Over time, Amsterdam works his way into Bill's employ and even becomes a sort of son-he-never-had figure in the eyes of the brutal Butcher. But New York is on the verge of imploding as the army constantly ignore popular opinion to round up citizens and immigrants to replenish the Union Army - this forced drafting of new soldiers eventually climaxes in a citywide riot. In the midst of this bloody confrontation, Amsterdam finally comes into his own private conflict with the Butcher for the revenge he has lusted after since his father's death.
Day-Lewis is utterly fantastic as Bill the Butcher, cleaving the skulls of his enemies with a machete and spitting vehement hatred at incoming mongrels with terrifying conviction. The Butcher is truly a screen character destined to be remembered for all-time. Di Caprio is less impressive as Amsterdam - yes, he looks more beefed-up than in other pictures and, under Scorsese's direction, he gives a passable performance - but he just isn't the right choice for this role. Diaz, as a woman who comes between them, performs decently enough even if her character is rather under-developed. The film is shot with great impact by Michael Ballhaus, who captures the filth and local colour of this pit of criminals in stunning detail, and makes some of the street battles seem very urgent and shockingly gory. Less impressive is Howard Shore's anachronistic score, which really sounds all wrong for this period locale. Gangs Of New York is a flawed but fascinating story - a film that ultimately reaches just a bit beyond its grasp but manages to be enthralling and magnificent in defeat.