A sprawling American mess

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2020)

This is the first Scorsese film I managed to watch in the theater. I was pretty much the only person in my group that appreciated the film. The script and storyline is confused and includes a lot of things that end up being historical detail, i.e. most of the Boss Tweed stuff. Likewise the revenge story and pseudo-love triangle at the heart of the film is a bit too pat. Diaz gives a pretty slipshod performance in this as well. Even as I was blown away with the rest of the film I recognized these significant problems. Re-watching the film the other I was even more impressed with the film's ambition-despite some of that ambition being denied- and how much Bill's nativism feels like a dire warning for Trumpianism. The film is still quite messy but it struck me as a mess to get lost in.
As a "character" study of the social conditions of New York city c 1860's this is a very good film. Much of the historical milieu is vivid and the resulting ugly world is a good counterpoint of much of the sanitized history you get in school. The film's narrative shortcomings are worth the hit to get a fuller sense of the environment these characters exist in. While parts of the history could have been handled better-the riots at the end were race riots!-ultimately I think this is a good primer.
Day-Lewis is probably the best part; the semi-confessional scene when at night with the flag draped over Bill is the scene I think everyone should watch again. It is a dire warning of where we are heading. The film humanizes the know-nothings at the same time it is condemning them. This is a dark film that brings to light much of Americana's underbelly.