Long, but worth it.

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2004)

I am not American nor do I know the history of New York, but if this film is anything to go by, I think that the New York of that time period would not have been a very pleasant place to live. This film is very graphic and rather disturbing. But it is worth sitting through for the acting.
A lot of people have said that Daniel Day-Lewis should have won the best actor Oscar... and I won't say anything different. He was just phenomenal. Pure genius. He totally transformed himself into Bill the Butcher and not for one second could you see any part of Daniel the Actor. The expressions, the body-language, the dialogue delivery... absolutely brilliant. It's a shame that he hasn't done a lot more films but maybe that's where the "quality over quantity" factor comes in. He could easily be doing lots of movies, but I guess his greatness lies in the fact that he can come out every few years with a performance like his life depended on it and then disappear. One thing's for sure, he never loses his charm. One of the greatest of all time, definitely.
I've never been a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but I do believe that he is an exceptional actor. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?", "Catch Me If You Can" and now this one... all solid, intense performances. He really got into character and did a great job despite the accent slip-ups.
The less said about Cameron Diaz, the better. I will agree with everyone who has said that she was less annoying in this movie than usual. Decent performance, but nothing noteworthy.
The rest of the supporting cast is great. Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, John C. Reily... all fine actors. And then of course, Liam Neeson. His role was short, but whatever he does is always excellent.
My rating: 8/10.