Martin Scorcese sure hates short movies

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2005)

Daniel Day Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio star in this epic, retelling the early days of the struggle for New York City.
Lewis stars as "Bill the Butcher" a patriotic local who runs the Five Points, a treasured piece of local ground. His name is "Bill the Butcher" because he is a butcher, literally, but he doesn't restrict his carving skills to animals, if you get my drift. Most are scared of him and get out of his way. SInce he defeated Priest Vallon and the Irish in 1842, things have been easier for him. That is until "Amsterdam" (Di Caprio), comes into town. He strikes up a relationship with Bill, but it's obvious he has a past (because all people have a past), but his past is special because his dad was....."The Priest", who Bill killed in 1842!!!! I'm not usually a huge fan of period pieces, but this was pretty solid. A great cast, also starring Liam Nesson, probably in his finest work since "The Phantom Menace" and Cameron Diaz, in probably her best work since "The Mask". Lewis steals the show though in an outstanding performance, and is solidly backed by Leo.
Warning: there's some strong violence, although I must say it's not as bad as I'd heard.