Scorsese' Underrated Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2016)

Martin Scorsese has proved himself to be the master of the mob movie but this was more than just the average mob movie but an inside look into the inner workings of New York City during the American Civil War and the lives of immigrants who lived through it. This was a passion project for Scorsese but when it came out it was written of as flawed and not one of his best and I have to disagree as I believe it's one of his best unlike most and is one of my favourites of all time. The location of New York was incredibly well executed I loved it the world felt lived in and dying with a rich history to it and its some of the best production design I've ever seen in a movie. But the locations are only as good as the characters who live in it and they were all incredibly well realised. Leonardo DiCaprio was perfect casting for this part he was just the right age to pull of that young brute quality that he couldn't pull of now and by its not means his best performance it's still a great one. But Daniel Day-Lewis gave an absolutely incredible performance and one that I believe to be his best he just sinks himself into this despicable and racist character who's able to be entertaining while at the same time terrifying and never leaves the audiences mind. When you hear the word, Gangs in the title you expect a lot of bloody battles but it's not really like that it's more of a dialogue driven political piece that's always interesting to watch. The way the characters go about fighting each other is fascinating to watch I love seeing the unusual methods they use on each other. The tension is slowly built up to a final battle that at first glance doesn't seem very satisfying but you quickly realise that it's meant to be like that your meant to question what the whole point of it all was and leaves a much bigger impact on the viewer that way. The final battle scenes are truly breathtaking you realise the hatred The goes on between all of them but it doesn't feel like pointless rage. Because of how well these characters are written you understand why they feel the way they do even if you know that it's the wrong attitude to have. One of the central plots of this movie is the love story between DiCaprio and Diaz and I personally thought it really worked I thought they boy had excellent chemistry and it really made me want them both to come out safe in the end and even though they do you (like them) do not know what to feel except the tragedies that occur.
Gangs of a New York is another testament to Martin Scorsese' greatness he proves himself to be the master of the mob genre but can do much more than just that and I hope that people will come to see this films greatness eventually.
A+/100%