miscasting

Rating: Null/10 (6 August 2003)

Warning: potential spoilers ahead.
Leonardo Dicaprio:
No. NO. He is not suited for this role. At all. There's not even a hint of an Irish accent anywhere throughout the film. I admit, he was incredible in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but here...he lacked the presence, the accent and the soul and is reduced to a shallow puddle compared to the roaring ocean that is Daniel Day-Lewis' William Cutting.
Cameron Diaz:
Much the same here. No accent. No presence. No soul. Admittedly, it's a fairly limited character, but she was noticeably bad in the way Queen Amidala was in the last star wars movie.
Also:
There are some minor problems to do with effects and the like.

1) In the opening battle scene, there are some moments when you really notice that the actors are not really hitting eachother at all, when no blood spurts out when a man is cleaved by a butcher knife.
2) When the riots start, the rocks being thrown seem to float in the air and are noticeably made of styrofoam.
On the plus side...
1)Daniel Day-Lewis delivers. Of course he does. Has he been bad in anything? Not that I know of, and I've seen most of his movies, being his obsessed stalker 'n all. I am probably biased...but, no one can say that his performance here wasn't powerful. The thick boston irish accent, the curled mustache, the greasy hair plastered on his sweaty forehead, and his comical but menacing manner...he is transformed. His performance here by far outweighs that of Adrien Brody in the Pianist.
"It was the finest beating I ever took...my guts was pierced...my ribs was all mashed up..."
One of the most memorable moments in cinematic history, that scene was (dans mon opinion).
2) There's no doubt about Scorcese's talent as a film maker. He takes us, entrances us, immerses us in another world. Unfortunately, the terrible miscasting almost ruins this film for me. Thank God for Daniel Day-Lewis, or this film would be completely wasted.