Almost great.

Rating: 8/10 (29 March 2003)

Well in my mind Scorsese is just about the greatest living American director still working on a regular basis. This film had many elements of greatness but ultimately I had my share of problems, the biggest having to do with how this epic got made in the first place. No way, no how was a picture this size going to get financed without a big star or two at the center, and it is that star that was my biggest problem with the movie. Leonardo DiCaprio does a perfectly fine job but his performance is hardly inspired, he did the best job he could but we was not the best person for the job. I found him to be one note and boring. Too bad Collin Farrel was not the hot star then that he is now, I think he would have been far more interesting. Daniel Day-Lewis on the other hand was absolutely awe inspiring. Man can this guy act, never would I have thought a year ago that I would shake in my boots at the mention of his name, but his Bill the butcher is seriously intimidating. The rest of the cast is first rate, especially old faithfuls like John Reilly and Brendan Gleeson. The production is huge, the sets amazing though because there were so few sets, I'd say the bulk of the action took place in three locations, the movie felt oddly claustrophobic. Maybe after a second look I will feel differently as is so often the case when viewing the work of a master like Scosese, but for now I felt the film was lacking