A Closer Look at Bill the Butcher

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2003)

I agree with most of the reviewers on IMDB that GONY is a flawed masterpiece that succeeds despite it's plot shortcomings and low-wattage performances by Leo and Cameron. Where the movie excells, in my opinion, is in its dialogue and character development, especially for Bill the Butcher.

I was completely blown away by the genious of Daniel Day-Lewis in constructing his character (Just hand him the Oscar, please!). Everything from his perfect proto New York accent to his leers, squints and grimaces, to his flashes of sarcastic wit, to his stylized body language, make him the most compelling screen character that I have seen for quite a while. However, what most reviewers have missed is that the character is not the elementally evil force that movie goers expect to see in this kind of film. In many ways, Scorsese and the screenwriters portray him as honorable, loyal, idealistic, respectful of intellect, patriotic, and to some extent fatherly. Of course all of these qualities are twisted in him, by the brutality of his environment and his misguided view of what it means to be an American.
If you closely look at the story arc, what exactly are the diffrences in the way that Bill's character behaves as compared to Priest Vallon, (Leo's father briefly played with great affect by Liam Neeson)? By his actions at the beginning of the film, and in revelations towards the end, we see that "The Priest" (if he really is one....because why would a Catholic priest have a son?)is a violent gang leader who is fanatically aligned with his cause and people (Irish Catholics). Is this so different than Bill? Of course, we have sympathy for Vallon because he is an immigrant, has a son, and apparantly has God on his side, but isn't that just sentimentality?

(Spoiler ahead) For his part, Bill is shown as revering Priest Vallon more than any of his fellow Nativists, or anyone for that matter who has "sold out" (ala Boss Tweed). And in sparing the life of Amsterdam (after he finds out that Leo has been secretly plotting his death), shows a trait remarkebly similar to the mercy that was earlier shown to him (Bill) by the Priest. Above all, Bill admires a chivalric code of conduct, courage, and dash, and intelligence. This is why he is so attracted to Amsterdam, and is so hurt by what he sees as a betrayal.
I do not mean to argue that Bill the Buther is meant to be a "good" character, and the hero of this movie. But the strength of GONY is that is presents a complex reality that is not weighed down by typical Hollywood notions of good and evil. In the end though, both "good" and "evil" are subsumed by the larger polical forces, and forgotten by the city that they fought and died for.
We can only hope that the great Day-Lewis doesn't wait another five years for his encore.