Visually Stunning Epic that didn't quite cut the masterpiece mustard.

Rating: 7/10 (23 April 2007)

I had missed this film first time around and it took 5 years for me to finally watch it. When you think Scorsese and actors like Lewis, Broadbent and Neeson you tend to think that it'll be worth watching at the very least.
I think Scorsese was on a historical mission as much as anything with this film. The story was so weak that it had to be the portrayal of the times and the birth of a city/nation that was the real focal point of the film. Had I seen this at the time I would have been worrying about DiCaprio's casting, but now I'm convinced he's one of the best young actors around. Cameron Diaz I thought was miscast and never really did it for me in the role of promiscuous pickpocket Jenny. Accents from all non Irish actors were all over the place but it was forgivable! Then we of course come to Lewis in what must be his most brilliant role to date. His portrayal of The Butcher was nothing short of menacing, nasty, slimy and quite literally frightening. He showed his vicious potential throughout the film but his brutal murder of Monk McGrinn on the doorstep of his shop was shocking, as was his treatment of the would be assassin in the theatre.
There was a lack of character development for me, particularly with DiCaprios character. There was much that was not shown about who he was and even where he lived and slept! Also The Butcher, how did he get so evil? What motivated his actions and why did he live in squalor? However it was kind of good to be kept thinking about what the characters got up to as well! The set and costume design were amazing. I didn't find the gore overwhelming and if anything it was underplayed as I'm sure with the weapons shown, things would have been a whole lot messier during the many fights the gangs had during that period. The whole thing was played out around a simple revenge style plot and the end was already given at the start as we see the young Amsterdam take the knife used to kill his father and bury it. For a 3 hour film it never felt sluggish, all the time we were kept moving and the story continued to unfold albeit heading for the inevitable ending.
So we are treated to a visual feast: huge crowd scenes, lavish extensive sets, great atmosphere and lighting and very little in the way of digital FX to weigh it down. One nice touch for me was the ending time lapse sequence where we see New York grow from the ramshackle wooden buildings of the 1860's right up to the modern day. Interesting too that the twin towers were included in the clip although they were destroyed almost a year previous in the 9-11 attacks. A tribute from the staunch New Yorker Scorsese no doubt.
A good film for me and Lewis's performance will linger as a benchmark for many years. A masterpiece? The miscasting and weak storyline prevent it from earning the title, but as far as direction and the production values, it's almost there.