Better than I expected

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2003)

I went into this film with low expectations, since I simply hadn't heard much good about it. To my happy surprise, it exceeded my expectations in almost all categories.
Beautifully mounted and shot and swiftly directed, this is Scorsese's best period film to date, far exceeding the awkward "Age of Innocence."
As everyone notes, Daniel Day-Lewis turns in a very strong performance. Cameron Diaz is adequate in the female lead. Leo DiCaprio is once again woefully miscast as a tough street kid and the idea that he could rally the tough Irish of New York around him at the end of the movie is almost silly.
DiCaprio is the film's biggest downfall for me, and he leads directly to the problems with its plotting. The story here is that a kid from a tough neighborhood sets out to avenge his father's death. That's it. DiCaprio's character seems to have no other goal and thus comes off to me not only secretive and brooding, but largely uninteresting.
Central characters of films should have big goals, with the revenge motive thrown in for good measure. As it was, Bill the Butcher was a far more interesting character and the film should have centered on him, with DiCaprio telling Bill's story. As it turned out, Bill seemed real, Amsterdam seemed as contrived a character as his name implied.
A simply change in focus could have turned this good film into a great one.