oscar candidate, if not winner

Rating: Null/10 (15 January 2003)

I was blown away by 'Gangs of New York'. The first thing one notices is that Scorsese's new masterpiece is visually stunning. The costumes, the sets, everything simply breathes the atmosphere of the time. The director succeeds in convincing us of the horrible circumstances in the notorious slums known as the Five Points.
From what I understand, Scorsese has taken some historical liberties. While people tend to get quite worked up about those in general, I believe the message he wants to get across still stands. The acting is brilliant; I don't usually like Leonardi DiCaprio all that much, in spite of some excellent past acting work in 'The Basketball Diaries' and 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape'. In this movie, however, he really shines and I am forced to reconsider.
Daniel Day-Lewis steals the show as Bill the Butcher and has my vote for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The movie as a whole certainly deserves to be nominated, and may well win.